Robots to the rescue

A new video by Core Faculty Member Radhika Nagpal and colleagues showcases the advances being made in developing robots that can perform important functions in disaster settings, such as stacking sand bags to hold back flood waters. Key to such a design is creating a robot that can safely fall off a structure and regain its footing, using simple principles. In this case the robot is symmetric top to bottom, with wheels shaped so as to make it unstable on its side.