Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara) have developed a soft burrowing robot for future space exploration applications.

The vine-like burrowing robot moves through the resistive forces of granular media such as sand and soil guided by tip extension, tip-based air fluidization and asymmetric airflow.

Source: UC Santa Barbara

According to its developers, the pneumatically driven burrowing robot moves through the media much like vegetation, growing and extending from its tip (tip extension), thereby eliminating friction. Likewise, air is blown from the tip of the robot (air fluidization), excavating and fluidizing the sand surrounding the robot, while asymmetric airflow keeps the robot from breaching the surface of the media by blowing in both a forward and downward flow pattern.

In addition to space exploration, the soft burrowing robot is also being eyed for soil sampling, underground utility installation and erosion control applications.

For more on the burrowing robot, watch the accompanying video that appears courtesy of UC Santa Barbara or read about the team’s research in the journal Science Robotics.