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I hope you are all had a great nights sleep and are enjoying your Saturday. Which of today’s article is your favorite?

Innovation

Shape-Shifting Robot

Robots traditionally struggle with unpredictable terrain. Seeking to address this, researchers at EPFL’s CREATE Lab, led by Josie Hughes, have developed GOAT (Good Over All Terrains)—a shape-shifting robot that adapts to its environment with minimal energy use. Unlike typical autonomous robots that compute only the shortest route from point A to point B, GOAT calculates how best to travel across varied landscapes. “Instead of avoiding a stream, it can swim through it,” Hughes explains. “If the terrain is hilly, it can roll downhill as a sphere to conserve energy, then switch back to rover mode when needed.”

Inspired by the adaptability of spiders and octopuses, GOAT’s design is built around two intersecting elastic fiberglass rods and four motorized rimless wheels. Two winch-driven cables enable GOAT to tighten into a ball, switching between a flat rover and a spherical shape for rolling or swimming. The computer, battery, and sensors remain protected in a central payload, ensuring sensitive components stay secure. While many extreme-terrain robots use complex arrays of sensors to guide every movement, GOAT relies primarily on satellite navigation and an inertial measurement unit. “Many extreme-terrain robots use extensive sensing to track each motor,” says PhD student Max Polzin. “But GOAT’s design allows it to adapt using minimal data, finding the path of least resistance by leveraging its environment.”

Future versions of GOAT may feature improved algorithms and come in different sizes for applications ranging from environmental monitoring to disaster response and even space exploration. According to Hughes, such flexible robots could be quickly deployed in unknown terrain with minimal planning. “Robots like GOAT could turn environmental challenges into computational advantages,” she says, “delivering effective performance where conventional robots fall short.”

Good News

Rescued from Medical Debt

Two nonprofits have teamed up to eliminate medical debt for over 1,000 working families in Maine.

Mainers for Working Families (MFWF) and Undue Medical Debt purchased $1.8 million in medical debt for just $12,740, helping low-income residents burdened by overwhelming bills. Hospitals often struggle to collect on large unpaid debts, making them willing to sell these accounts for a fraction of their value. Undue Medical Debt, formerly RIP Medical Debt, steps in to buy them at steep discounts—often for pennies on the dollar. Founded by Wall Street investors after the Occupy Wall Street movement, the organization has erased $14.8 billion in medical debt nationwide.

In Maine, 1,508 people—either carrying medical debt worth at least 5% of their annual income or earning four times below the federal poverty line—benefited from this effort. “We can’t turn back the clock for these people, but we had to do something,” said Evan LeBrun, MFWF’s executive director.

Environment

2,000 Dolphins Frolicking

A whale-watching tour off Monterey Bay recently spotted a superpod of more than 2,000 dolphins.

The massive gathering included Northern right whale dolphins and Pacific white-sided dolphins, along with many calves. The boat’s crew launched a drone to capture aerial footage of the rare event.“Superpods like this are rare, especially of Northern right whale dolphins,” Monterey Bay Whale Watch wrote on Facebook. Captain Evan Brodsky, who also participates in marine research trips, previously recorded a superpod of long-beaked common dolphins in 2023. Northern right whale dolphins, which lack a dorsal fin, have a distinctive jumping motion. “When they jump, they look like flying eyebrows,” Brodsky told AP.

According to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, dolphins in pods engage in social behaviors like playing, babysitting, courtship, and cooperative hunting. Superpods form when multiple pods come together, though scientists are still uncertain about the exact reasons behind these large gatherings.

Check out the video on Facebook below:

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Mind Stretchers

⁉️ 

What did the bat say to his date?

Answers to yesterday’s Mind Stretchers

I show you who you are, yet I am not alive.
I follow your every move, but I never arrive.
I hold no memory, yet I always know your face.
What am I? — a mirror!

Debbie Ettinger got the correct answer first! 🪞 

Be the first to send us the correct answer for today’s mind stretcher for a shout-out with the answer tomorrow. Just send us the answer and your name to [email protected] or reply to the email.

If you have any uplifting stories and experience you might want to share, send those over to [email protected] for the chance to be featured.