Why robotic worms could one day dig beneath your feet

[butterscotch]

Scientists are trying to perfect technology based on earthworms for digging and excavation uses.

The GE researchers believe that it would be useful for installing underground utility infrastructure, in a less environmentally damaging manner than some conventional drilling. They’re aiming for a lower cost as well.

“We see a real commercial opportunity for this,” says John Lizzi, who leads the Robotics and Autonomous Systems division at GE Research. He believes key areas include fibre internet, electrical power and charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.

Apart from those, eventually earthworm-like robots could also be applied in areas like mining, agricultural sensing, and planetary excavation.

An especially important use could be in search-and-rescue. Prof Ozkan-Aydin talks of the recent earthquakes that devastated Turkey, her country of origin. A tiny wriggling robot with a camera attached could have been useful there for determining where to concentrate rescue efforts, without disturbing the ground.

Why robotic worms could one day dig beneath your feet

[OldGreyFox]

As someone who likes to conceal electrical wiring during my many projects, especially house security, this sounds like a brilliant idea. I look forward to the day when I can pop into my local electronics outlet and purchase one of these burrowing worms for pushing cables through walls, floors and earth…

[LongDriver]

This must be an old info sheet. I had a new gas main ‘moled’ into this property during 2013 with a worm type of small ground hole boring tool doing the work without any digging. Impact Moling Specialists - Mole Group UK (moleutilities.co.uk)

[Supernatural]

As long as they won’t be spying LOL, then they can take care of business… Dig, dig, dig!

[spitfire]

Who is going to be in charge of all the charging? what power source will these mini excavators run on? a bit of nuclear delivered courtesy of Vlad

[butterscotch]

@LongDriver

This must be an old info sheet. I had a new gas main ‘moled’ into this property during 2013 with a worm type of small ground hole boring tool doing the work without any digging.

There are existing digging robots. These are smaller and are attempting to use the earthworm design in a different way.

Still, this robot isn’t as big as the rugged tunnelling robot created by the multinational company GE, one of the few earthworm robots being developed for near-term commercial applications.