Are Starfish Robots the Next Big Thing in Automated House Cleaning?

They make great cleaners in our aquariums, so why wouldn’t starfish be just as awesome at cleaning our homes? According to a recent posting on Discovery News, Turkish designer Rana Alper used starfish as a jumping off point for his design on the ultimate house cleaning robot. Named “Tody”, this robot doesn’t have the typical five legs we see on starfish in the ocean, but instead uses four flexible arms that are said to be lined with gecko-inspired grippers that help it climb all over various surfaces. The unit is made of polymer-metal composites that move with the help of artificial muscles.

With this combination of appendages, the Tody can crawl around all over the floor, on top of furniture, and even up curtains. The robot cleans with its massive array nozzles, which is made up of 22 steam nozzles and 29 vacuum nozzles per arm. The water reservoirs and dust bags are located within Tody’s body.

The soft-sided robot comes from Turkish designer Rana Alper, and takes much of its form from nature. The shape resembles a starfish, but its mobility and ability to use its arms for various tasks comes from the octopus. Tiny, gecko-inspired grippers on the underside of Tody’s arms help it cling to a wide variety of surfaces. The robotic starfish follows voice commands to perform all of its cleaning tasks.