While rangefinders, cameras, and lasers are now used by autonomous robots for navigation, whiskers could be an inexpensive addition that helps avoid some very costly mishaps. Not only do cats and mice have whiskers, but many other mammals do as well, such as all non-human primates and a large number of marine creatures like seals and dugongs. This biological diffusion can only indicate one thing: whiskers are really helpful. Indeed, they help animals move more stealthily and perceive their surroundings more clearly.

A set of 3D-printed whiskers that Australian engineers have developed should help robots learn more about their environment. especially in blind areas, or to determine the type, weight, and shape of an object that is in their way. With an emphasis on taking robots out of the lab and into the real world, co-inventor Dr. Russell Brinkworth, an associate professor in autonomous systems at Flinders University, stated that he and his colleagues would want to see these whiskers behave similarly to human fingertips.


Dr. Russell Brinkworth on the left  and Simon Pegoli on the right (Source: Google Images) 

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“These 3D printed sensor whiskers could be fitted at low cost and give robots many useful additional capacities,” he told Cosmos Magazine. “Every space is different, so giving robots effective tactile sensor systems to map their tasks and ‘visualize’ movement in their range will advance their abilities,” adds Simon Pegoli, a Ph.D. candidate at Flinders University, and lead author on a paper published in Sensors and Actuators.

The two have optimized the whisker shape and attachment mechanism using mechanical beam theory, which should keep prices down and usefulness up. With their long and flexible whiskers, robots operating in crowded areas such as shipping or receiving stations in warehouses would have a useful tool for determining the weight and hardness of objects they encounter, which might potentially avoid collisions altogether. Animals and their adaptations are frequently touted as examples of brilliant engineering and problem-solving as the field of robotics grows and diversifies.

 Previous robots that GNN has covered include a rolling medical supply delivery robot modeled after a pangolin, an off-world rover that spirals like a snake, and pollination fairy robots that are modeled after wind-blown seeds from plants like dandelions.