Alice M. Agogino

A team of scientists led by engineering professor Alice Agogino has developed a new lightweight and squishy, shape-shifting robot that can be dropped from great heights by aircraft into hazardous situations and relay information to first responders. The work evolved out of a project she was conducting with NASA scientists, and she and some of the NASA team members co-founded Squishy Robotics to develop the technology, with aid from Berkeley's SkyDeck accelerator. The team conducted more than 200 interviews with first responders nationwide to understand their needs. "Everything was surprising," she says. "There's a whole ecology around first responders. It's not only the fire department -- it turns out it's Homeland Security, the military, and even utilities employees. A lot of fires are being started by faulty industrial electronic equipment." Those interviews have yielded a range of new ideas to pursue. "We're working on putting rotors on the robot to make them low-to-the-ground drones, which can maneuver throughout buildings," Professor Agogino says. "And we've had a request to make them float [for use in water rescues and flood incidents]."

A team of scientists led by engineering professor Alice Agogino has developed a new lightweight and squishy, shape-shifting robot that can be dropped by aircraft into hazardous situations and relay information to first responders. "We think that it can save lives" says Professor Agogino , CEO of Squishy Robotics, the startup she founded in 2017 to commercialize the technology. The two-pound robot has survived a 600-foot drop without incurring damage, and she believes it could withstand greater falls. They're also developing a mobile version that can move on ground, powered by small electric motors. "It's not going to be fast, and we are not designed for speed," she says. "But the advantage is it can go over rough terrain. It can shift its shape to go between boulders and rocks," using what she calls a "punctuated rolling motion."