Robot rooster, locust and jellyfish: the most interesting robots that look like animals

Robot bat

Those who are scared of bats should stay away from a graduate student's invention

Tel Aviv University Itamar Eliakim: an autonomous robot that moves in the dark like a flying rodent.

RoBat, as it is called, does not actually fly.It moves along the ground on four wheels. But, just like with bats, it uses echolocation to get an idea of ​​the environment based on sound. The ultrasonic speaker emits frequency modulated sounds at a frequency commonly used by bats, and two ultrasonic microphones serve as the ears of the robot.

RoBat classifies the boundaries and shapes of objects withusing our own artificial neural network. For example, if a device reaches a dead end, it can use its powers to determine if the path is blocked by a solid wall or plant through which the robot can pass.

Rooster robot

Roosters can fly, but prefer to walk. A robot from the Israeli startup RoboTiCan too.

“He walks most of the time, but when hecollides with an obstacle, can hover and fly, ”explains Ophir Bustan, COO of RoboTiCan. The main purpose of this Rooster Robot is to help the injured during natural disasters, where it is not safe to send a rescue person.

The robot is very sturdy - it rolls in a cagemeasuring 30 by 40 centimeters, can fall from a height of 6 meters and continue to work. A team of robots can communicate with each other, even if there is no cellular connection, creating their own wireless network, something like a walkie-talkie.

A flock of rooster robots can be controlled by oneoperator. And if a robot hits a wall, it can explore other options without waiting for instructions. RoboTiCan was ordered by the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

Jellyfish robot

As a source of inspiration for the creation of robots, aquatic creatures often act - crustaceans, fish, cetaceans. But jellyfish robots are rare.

Contrary to popular belief that jellyfish -inefficient swimmers, they have proven to be some of the most energy efficient marine life. In nature, they move, expanding radially and compressing bell-shaped bodies, pushing out water behind them. This jet sailing has a distinct advantage if low energy thrust is required. It was the movement of jellyfish that aroused interest among engineers in the context of creating underwater vehicles.

Researchers at the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China, have successfully developed a new robotic jellyfish capable of 3D movements and maneuvers. 

Robotic jellyfish modeled after patternAurelia aurita (eared aurelia). Its height is about 138 mm and its weight is about 8.2 kg. The robotic jellyfish is hemispherical in shape and consists of a rigid bell-shaped head, a cylindrical main cavity, four separate six-bar linkages, and soft rubber skin.

Robot locust

The locust was the animal inspiration forteams of zoologists and mechanical engineers who invented a robot that can jump 11 feet and travel a horizontal distance of 4.5 feet — and all this in one jump. The robot does not look like a locust, but its design is based on the biomechanical features of the locust's three-stage jumping mechanism.

Small and inexpensive jumping robots willperform tasks more efficiently than larger machines. In addition, Cyber ​​Jumpers can be used in environments where small size is an advantage, such as when searching under rubble or when responding to oil spills.

Robot starfish

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon Universityrecently created PATRICK, a soft robot that artificially reproduces the structure and behavior of a starfish. This unique bio-inspired robot can crawl underwater using five legs powered by shape memory alloy (SMA) wire.

The robot senses the environment and independently chooses in which direction to move.

Another interesting property of the soft robot,is that he can perform a wide range of possible movements under water, since his legs are made up of several SMA “muscles” that can be rearranged in different ways. This is rare for mobile soft robots, which are usually only capable of a few simple movements or locomotion styles.

Octopus robot

Two-thirds of the octopus's neurons are in itshands, which means that each hand literally has its own mind. The octopus's arms can untie knots, open child-proof bottles and wrap around prey of any shape or size. Hundreds of suction cups covering their arms can form strong insulation even on uneven surfaces underwater.

Imagine if a robot could do all this.

Researchers at the Harvard School of Engineering andPaulson University of Applied Sciences (SEAS) and Beihan University have developed an octopus-style soft robotic arm that can grip, move, and manipulate a wide variety of objects. Its flexible tapered design, complete with suction cups, allows the grip to securely grip objects of all shapes, sizes and textures - from eggs to iPhones and large exercise balls.

Read more

Abortion and science: what will happen to the children who will give birth

Unknown animals resembling sponges found in the ice of Antarctica

Look at an 8 trillion pixel image of Mars

Robat - robot and bat (bat)