# Armoring the caterpillar: Study reveals design clues for soft crawling robots moving on smooth surfaces such as glass

- Source: Tech Xplore Robotics
- Published: 2026-10-30T14:40:14.000Z
- RoboHot: https://robohot.news/en/items/txsgn3hf2hzolti96yahpvxjc
- Original: https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-armored-caterpillars-robot-lessons-slippery.html

## Summary

A team from the University of Naples Federico II and the University of Palermo used a spring-mass crawling model to analyze the movement of Pieris brassicae caterpillars on wood, steel, slate, and glass, finding that surface roughness is strongly correlated with crawling performance; glass is difficult to traverse because its microscopic roughness is insufficient for the prolegs to grip.