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back to article 'Roly poly' soft, wobbly robot BANGS EXPLOSIVELY, leaps 0.5m in air

Boffins at the Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering at Zurich have developed an “untethered, jumping, roly-poly” soft robot powered by explosive gases. Soft Robotics is a field of bio-inspired robotics which derives its inspiration from animals such as starfish, worms, squid and octopuses. Avoiding the use of hard …

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  1. Khaptain Silver badge

    Boom yodel, boom yodel

    Having skimmed 4 words of the article thouroughly studied the article, I honestly believed that I was about to read an article about Roly Poly Swiss bomb makers.

    It would have been a little bit paradoxical that the land of the Geneva Convention and Human Rights made bombs. There are several Roly Poly people though.

    Although having given a litttle bit of thought, it probably wouldn't take much to make this into a roly poly bomb...

    0 0 Reply
    1. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: Boom yodel, boom yodel

      It does seem to look like some kind of friendly landmine. Especially with those cross-sections.

      So I suppose next comes the children's TV show Roly Poly the Friendly Landmine?

      1 0 Reply
  2. ashdav
    Happy

    Terrahawks

    Anyone else think of them?

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085099/

    3 0 Reply
    1. tony2heads
      Reply Icon

      Re: Terrahawks

      Nope

      5 0 Reply
    2. Chozo
      Reply Icon
      Childcatcher

      Re: Terrahawks

      Yes... +1 for NOT putting in link to Youtube lol!

      ..now where did I put that mind bleach

      0 0 Reply
    3. Alan J. Wylie
      Reply Icon

      Re: Terrahawks

      Not Terrahawks - Power Rammers

      Hope they are all wearing steel toecaps

      0 0 Reply
  3. hplasm
    Happy

    Where

    Are the Pictures? (oh, in the linky... a bit dry though... /edit)

    Video, preferably.

    0 0 Reply
    1. frank ly
      Reply Icon

      Re: Where

      Yes, if it's not on YouTube, it didn't happen. Wake me up when there's a video.

      P.S. If that exhaust port is self sealing and flexible, it will also be a farting robot. Put it on YouTube!

      5 0 Reply
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Where

        " it will also be a farting robot."

        FINALLY - I was reading all the comments and was expecting a raft of farting jokes and not one. NOT ONE!

        The quality of commentators has really gone uphill. :(

        10 0 Reply
        1. Sarah Balfour
          Reply Icon

          Re: Where

          No it ain't! Not whilst I'm still around! I'll think of summat to lower the tone/intellect, promise!

          0 0 Reply
        2. Fungus Bob
          Reply Icon
          Devil

          Re: FARTBOT!!!!

          "The quality of commentators has really gone uphill. :("

          Ya happy now?

          0 0 Reply
      2. ashdav
        Reply Icon

        Re: Where

        Here you go Youtube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6-6ycIaSDs

        Skip forward to 3:35.

        0 0 Reply
        1. Cliff
          Reply Icon

          Re: Where

          He either did it from the spirit realms, or whoever bought out the rights is exercising them to the point of chopping them entirely from the public consciousness.

          0 0 Reply
        2. Mystic Megabyte
          Reply Icon
          Happy

          Re: Where

          >>Gerry Anderson pulled all the videos from Youtube otherwise I would have linked to one.

          I hope that I can still surf the net when I'm dead.

          2 0 Reply
          1. TRT Silver badge
            Reply Icon

            Re: Where

            He had strings on them.

            1 0 Reply
  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "untethered, jumping, roly-poly” - powered by explosive gases"

    Patrons, mostly drunk, leaving the local Indian restaurant at closing time?

    3 0 Reply
  5. The Crow From Below

    So

    It's a slightly miss shaped sphere and it has an open exhaust port on the surface leading directly to the most combustible area of it.

    I wonder what it's security against teeny tiny rebel invasions is like.

    4 0 Reply
    1. Alan Brown Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: So

      "I wonder what it's security against teeny tiny rebel invasions is like."

      Hopefully better than its security against rogue apostrophes.

      5 1 Reply
      1. The Crow From Below
        Reply Icon

        Re: So

        "Hopefully better than its security against rogue apostrophes."

        They're They're Scott, its just the internet, not the Times.

        2 0 Reply
        1. Yugguy
          Reply Icon

          Re: So

          http://www.moretvicar.com/collection/the-daily-mash/product/the-daily-mash-i-am-amazing-1

          0 0 Reply
        2. Richard 120
          Reply Icon

          Re: "They're They're Scott, its just the internet, not the Times."

          +1 for the sarcasm

          -1 for just annoying the damned hell out of me

          AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH so conflicted!

          2 0 Reply
          1. The Crow From Below
            Reply Icon

            Re: "They're They're Scott, its just the internet, not the Times."

            "AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH so conflicted!"

            My work here is

            (•_•)

            ( •_•)>⌐■-■

            (⌐■_■)

            done

            3 0 Reply
            1. Ashton Black
              Reply Icon

              Re: "They're They're Scott, its just the internet, not the Times."

              Didn't you forget the:

              "YEEEEAAAAHHHH!!"

              (cue: Won't Get Fooled Again, The Who)

              ?

              1 0 Reply
        3. PNGuinn
          Reply Icon
          Devil

          Re: So

          You are the Graun and I claim my five pounds.

          0 0 Reply
  6. Harry the Bastard

    i, for one, welcome our new roly-poly overlords

    i’d like to remind them that as a trusted el reg commentard, i can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground swiss lair

    1 0 Reply
  7. JacobZ
    Go

    Big Hero 6?

    Really? Am I the first to read "roly-poly soft wobbly robot" and think of Baymax?

    1 0 Reply
  8. Crisp

    It looks a little like a Puddi

    See title.

    0 0 Reply
  9. Slartybardfast

    Cat Scarer

    I could do with one of these linked up to a PIR. It would probably scare away the multitude of cats that like to use my garden as a toilet.

    1 0 Reply
    1. Long John Brass
      Reply Icon

      Re: Cat Scarer

      I'm building an ed209 in my garden shed for the same reason.

      For some reason the local authorities got a little twitchy when I tried to import the twin .50 cal. Cobra cannons I need get the weapons systems online.

      0 0 Reply
    2. PNGuinn
      Reply Icon
      Mushroom

      Re: Cat Scarer

      Nah - do the job properly.

      Multiple thermonuclear fragmentation landmines - with frikking lasers on.

      And a camera to pipe the action to Utube. Exploding moggie pictures. It'll probably bring the 'net to its knees.

      0 0 Reply
      1. ashdav
        Reply Icon

        Re: Cat Scarer

        Wait a little longer and we shall have:

        "Sharks with frikkiin' lasers!"

        It will come. Oh yes, it will come.

        0 0 Reply

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