A team of researchers from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), has created a robotic turtle that can maneuver through sand and dig itself out of the granular substance.

Taking inspiration from turtle hatchlings with their oversized flippers, the robot is also designed with large flippers that enable it to “swim” in up to 5 inches of sand.

Source: UCSD

Further, the untethered, Wi-Fi controlled robotic turtle moves at roughly a rate of 13 ft per hour and can detect obstacles thanks to the force sensors located in its flippers.

The researchers are eyeing the robot turtle for possible applications including the inspection of grain silos, the sampling of soil, search and rescue, extraterrestrial exploration and seafloor digging.

The turtle-inspired robot is detailed in the article Toward Robotic Sensing and Swimming in Granular Environments using Underactuated Appendages, which appears in the journal Advanced Intelligent Systems.