A joint Italian-French research team has developed a unique type of robot whose body grows on demand. The robot is designed to use 3D printing to create additional mass for the body, allowing it to elongate.
The Velobot robot mimics the “bud tip mechanism” found in plant stems. It allows it to independently decide when to extend its body, and the amount of this expansion based on the surrounding environment, so that it can reach places that are difficult for traditional robots to reach.