Biomimetic Robotics News

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Glass Knifefish Achieve Better Locomotor Performance than Current Robotic Systems

For nearly 20 years, Professor Eric Fortune has studied glass knifefish, a species of three-inch long electric fish that lives in the Amazon Basin. In his laboratory he tries to understand how their tiny brains control complex electrical behaviors. But he could not help but be intrigued by the special "ribbon fin" that knifefish use to swim back and forth.

8 Nov 2013

Researchers Study Stingray Movements for Building More Agile, Maneuverable Unmanned Underwater Vehicles

Recent studies show stingrays are the hybrid cars of the ocean.

8 Nov 2013

Animal Mechanics to Control Mutually Opposing Forces Inspire Improved Control Systems for Small Robots

A quirk of nature has long baffled biologists: Why do animals push in directions that don’t point toward their goal, such as the side-to-side sashaying of a running lizard or cockroach? An engineer building a robot would likely avoid these movements because they seem wasteful. So why do animals behave this way?

5 Nov 2013

Researchers Measure Ankle Stiffness Using ‘Anklebot’ Robot

For most healthy bipeds, the act of walking is seldom given a second thought: One foot follows the other, and the rest of the body falls in line, supported by a system of muscle, tendon, and bones.

28 Oct 2013

Researchers to Design Life-Like Autonomous Robotic Jellyfish

Virginia Tech College of Engineering researchers are part of a national study that has cracked how jellyfish move with the lowest cost of transport of any animal. The findings will be used as researchers continue to design bio-inspired jellyfish for the U.S. Navy.

19 Oct 2013

Researchers Map Unknown Environments Using Swarms of Insect Cyborgs

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed software that allows them to map unknown environments – such as collapsed buildings – based on the movement of a swarm of insect cyborgs, or “biobots.”

18 Oct 2013

PG&E Tests Wirelessly Controlled Twenty-Foot Long Robot to Inspect Gas Transmission Pipelines

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is testing a new wirelessly controlled twenty-foot long robot to inspect its gas transmission pipelines as part of the utility's effort to increase pipeline safety throughout their service area.

17 Oct 2013

Robotic Prosthetic Foot Mimics Natural Walk

Walking is tricky business, as any toddler knows. And while most artificial feet and limbs do a pretty good job restoring mobility to people who have lost a leg, they have a ways to go before they equal the intricacy of a natural gait. As a result, over half of all amputees take a fall every year, compared to about one-third of people over 65.

16 Oct 2013

Solar Panels in Wings May Help Future Robotic Birds Fly Longer and Farther

Small robotic birds are showing lots of promise for tasks such as monitoring the environment and conducting surveillance.

9 Oct 2013

Reaction Times of Robots Can be Reduced to Address Threat of Chaos

When chaos threatens, speed is essential; for example, when a pacemaker needs to stabilise an irregular heartbeat or a robot has to react to the information received from its environment. Both cases require imposing a stable, organised state on a chaotic system.

30 Sep 2013