In a Tight Spot? Robo-Roach Can Flatten Itself to Help

Robots that mimic the way cockroaches can scuttle through teeny-tiny cracks might one day help first responders locate and rescue disaster victims trapped in debris, researchers say. Specifically, the researchers have patterned robots after insects for decades — after all, insects are some of the most successful animals on the planet, comprising about 75 percent of all animal species known to humanity. Robert Full, an integrative biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, and his