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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Daniel Goldman, an associate professor of physics at Georgia Institute of Technology who was not involved in the research, says the paper contains a “beautiful” integration of biology and robotics. “It uses insights from soil physics to advance our understanding of the biomechanics behind an impressive feat of organism locomotion — digging vertically into soil,” Goldman says.
“By discovering a principle behind this ability — localized fluidization — the researchers are able to give a robotic digging clam, RoboClam, similar abilities. And the study of the robot gives deeper insight into the important mechanics behind burrowing through localized fluidization,” he adds.
