Worms navigate narrow paths faster than wide ones – these findings could inform robot design

Per The Conversation (US), researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder found that California blackworms move faster through narrow channels than wide ones. In both computer simulations and real worms, the narrower paths kept the worms aligned and moving forward, while wider spaces encouraged them to pause, bend, and explore sideways. The findings could inform the design of soft robots, which might benefit from tighter spaces when navigating inside the body or industrial pipelines.

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