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Soft-bodied robot moves like a squid

Researchers at Harvard University present a squid-like mechanized device that looks like a modern-day Gumby.

Chenda Ngak Editor / CBSNews.com
Chenda Ngak is CBSNews.com's Science & Technology Editor.
Chenda Ngak
YouTube/spectrummag

I'm officially convinced scientists are competing to make the creepiest, most skin-crawling robots on Earth.

The latest designer robot is the creepiest and crawliest of them all. It looks like a modern-day Gumby, but it moves like a mechanized earthworm that's out to steal your soul while you sleep. Aside from that, it's amazing in its simplicity and potential usefulness.

Researchers at Harvard University, led by George M. Whitesides, recently published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describing their invention.

"A combination of crawling and undulation gaits allowed this robot to navigate a difficult obstacle," the researchers state in the paper's abstract.

It's called a multigait soft robot and is composed exclusively of soft materials inspired by creatures without hard internal skeletons, like squids and worms. When tested, it was able to navigate through surfaces including like Jell-O, gravel, and mud.

According to PhysOrg.com, the project is being funded by the Pentagon's research arm. Commence irrational fear of the great robot-human war.