# NYU worm robot shifts water weight to climb steps and swim faster

_Published Sunday, October 11, 2026 at 9:06 PM EDT · Robotics, Science · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

![The amphibious WorMa robot shifts water between its head and tail to adapt to different terrain — Primary](https://assets.newatlas.com/dims4/default/2fa087d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2500x1313+0+177/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnewatlas-brightspot.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com%2Ffb%2F59%2Fecdc58c94dc3aa1f5ad14a363268%2Fscreenshot-2026-10-07-at-11-10-53-am.jpeg&na.image_optimisation=0)

Researchers at New York University's Tandon School of Engineering demonstrated a worm-shaped robot that shifts water between its head and tail to climb slopes and steps and improve swimming, New Atlas reported. WorMa climbed slopes of up to 19.5 degrees and steps up to 15 cm high.

A pump moves 300 grams of water between two latex balloons. Moving weight forward improves traction; moving it backward in water helps the robot swim about 26% faster than it could otherwise. Stair climbing requires repeated shifts in both directions.

WorMa lacks sensors to identify terrain, so its weight shifting is controlled externally. Researchers are working on a faster pump.

## Sources

- [New Atlas: Technology-Innovation-Outdoor News](https://newatlas.com/robotics/worma-weight-shifting-worm-robot/)

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Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/p2mUN_fA-ssAjT87BfgZsa
Published: 2026-10-12T01:06:38.551Z
Story chronology: 2026-10-12T00:35:00.000Z
Retrieved: 2026-10-12T05:04:27.244Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)