Professor Elie Shammas of the mechanical engineering department has investigated and created robotic and bio-robotic “shape controllable structures” that perform duties beyond the abilities of human brings – like remotely controlled snake robots that slide and slither wherever they are needed. He explains the progress he and his colleagues have made in areas like dangerous search and rescue operations and delicate medical work. His latest research includes medical forceps that retrieve objects from inside human bodies, and scanning technology that measures tooth movement during operations.