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Meet the Pentagon's New Militarized Earthworm

Sometimes DARPA works in mysterious ways. With a $2.8 billion annual operating budget, the Pentagon's (in)famous research and development arm exists to develop future forward technology that will keep our military a stride ahead of the rest, and the...

Sometimes DARPA works in mysterious ways. With a $2.8 billion annual operating budget, the Pentagon’s (in)famous research and development arm exists to develop future forward technology that will keep our military a stride ahead of the rest, and the breakthroughs are often miraculous. It was DARPA after all that gave us the Internet, Siri and the Boeing X-45. Then there are the more experimental DARPA projects, like Meshworm. Meshworm is an indestructible, robotic earthworm that can crawl virtually silently at a speed of about 5 millimeters per second. DARPA wants to send it into battle.

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Believe it or not, the Pentagon’s been working on building a robotic earthworm for a while. They tried putting one together with gears. They tried with air-powered and pneumatic pumps, but the results were bulky and untenable. Then, researchers at Harvard, MIT and Seoul National University in Korea put their heads together and designed an “artificial muscle.” It’s essentially a polymer mesh that’s wrapped with nickel and titanium wire designed to stretch and contract with heat. When an electric current is applied, the mesh mimics the circular muscle system of an earthworm to scoot forward.

Meshworm isn’t exactly battle-ready, but the Pentagon has high hopes. Its flexible shell makes it great at squeezing through tight spaces and navigating rough terrain, however slowly. Meanwhile, the worm-like movement makes almost no noise meaning Meshworm could become a creepy spybot. It’s also extremely durable and able to withstand blows from a hammer. All it needs now is WiFi, night vision and, heck, lasers strapped on top.

Like many other DARPA projects, however, the Meshworm technology is probably most interesting for its civilian applications. The invention represents a leap forward in soft robotic technology. Since the artificial muscle is so flexible and durable, it’s bound to be useful in the field of implants and prosthetics. One professor of biomechanics told MIT’s press office that the applications could go much futher. Says Kellar Autumn of Lewis and Clark University, "I predict that in the next decade we will see shape-changing artificial muscles in many products, such as mobile phones, portable computers and automobiles."

Of course, if all else fails, the Meshworm would make a terrific sex toy. So lifelike!

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