Though the seahorse isn’t the only armored creature on Earth, it is perhaps the most flexible. Its monkey-like prehensile tail allows it to hook onto corals and seaweed. But the researchers wondered whether the armor provides protection from crushing, which is the favored mode of attack used by its natural predators, which include crabs and turtles. By compressing sections of seahorse tails, the researchers found that these could be compressed down to just over half the original width without permanent damage occurring. The tail needed to be compressed by over 60 percent before the spinal column was permanently damaged, with connective tissues and tail muscles absorbing most of the compression…
The researchers are using 3D printing to replicate the structure of the plates, which would be attached to polymers to simulate muscles. The intent is to build a robotic arm that synthesizes hard and soft materials (unlike many other robotics projects, which the researchers say tend to favor either one or the other). Be creating an arm similar to the tail of a seahorse, researchers think the arm would be able to grasp objects of varying size, rather like a robotic tentacle. How might such an arm be used? Medical devices, exploring the oceans and bomb disposal are all potential uses, the researchers say.
via Gizmag
Image: Joanna McKittrick research group/Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego
