Wild Robots

Sloths seem to move in slow motion. Snakes are super flexible. Dolphins can swim at high speeds. Adaptations like these help animals survive in all kinds of environments. 

Many engineers are inspired by animals. The animals give them ideas for new types of robots. These robots copy the animals’ abilities. Sometimes, the robots even look like the animals! Engineers copy nature to create new technology. This is called biomimicry (bye-oh-MIM-ik-ree). 

Read on to learn about five robots. They copy the speed, the size, and the shape of animals. That allows these bots to do all kinds of jobs.  

Dolphins are kept by many aquariums. They’re trained to perform tricks. But some people do not like dolphins being kept in tanks. They argue that the animals suffer. The company Edge Innovations has designed a robot called Delle. It can replace dolphins in marine parks. Delle looks and moves like a real bottlenose dolphin! 

Engineers built a metal structure to create Delle. It’s like a dolphin’s skeleton. They added motors. These motors help the robot glide and dive. A cord connects the robot to electrical power. Engineers are adding artificial intelligence to Delle. The software would allow it to move by itself. “We view our robots as ambassadors for the real animals out in the ocean,” says Walt Conti. He’s the company’s chief executive.

Watch a turtle walk, and you’ll notice that the legs diagonal to each other step at the same time. Engineer Dylan Drotman was inspired to design a robot that moves in a similar way. Pairing the legs allows Drotman to use fewer parts than if the robot’s legs moved independently. The turtle-like bot doesn’t run on batteries. It’s powered and controlled by air!

The robot starts when Drotman opens an air canister on top of the bot. Air flows through valves and into plastic tubes in the legs. Changes in air pressure cause the valves to open and close, filling different legs with air. As air flows, alternating legs bend to walk. “It’s like an air-powered robot balloon animal,” says Drotman.

Others have built air-powered robots for prosthetic limbs and surgical devices. But unlike in Drotman’s bot, the air flow is often controlled by electronics. Drotman hopes to use his design to create air-powered robot toys.

Watch a turtle walk. Notice the legs diagonal to each other. They step at the same time. Dylan Drotman is an engineer. He designed a robot that moves in a similar way. Pairing the legs allows the robot to have fewer parts than if each leg moved on its own. The turtle-like bot doesn’t run on batteries. It’s powered by air! 

Drotman opens an air canister on top of the bot. That starts the robot. Air flows through valves. It then flows into plastic tubes in the legs. As the air pressure changes, the valves open and close. That fills different legs with air. Opposite legs bend to walk. “It’s like an air-powered robot balloon animal,” says Drotman.

Other people have built air-powered robots before. But the air flow in those robots is often controlled by electronics. Drotman hopes to use his design to create air-powered robot toys. 

These flying robots look like insects. But they won’t bite or sting. They’re drones designed to work in hard-to-reach spaces like the insides of big machines.

The robots weigh less than a paper clip! The drones can hover and dart around like flying insects. The newest version (top right) is tough. “You can hit it when it’s flying, and it can recover,” says Kevin Chen, one of the engineers. “It can also do somersaults in the air.” 

Chen hopes one day the drones will be used as pollinators. Like bees, the drones could move pollen from one plant to another. Our food supply depends on insects pollinating crops. Drones might become important if these insects die off.

Snakes move by bending and coiling their long bodies. Engineers have been designing flexible robots that imitate this ability for decades. Roboticist Howie Choset is one of those engineers. His snake robots can move through environments in ways other robots can’t.

Choset’s robot design has multiple joints linked together. Each joint moves independently, allowing the robot to move its body like a real snake. The remote-controlled robot can slither over bumpy surfaces, fit through cramped areas, and wrap around poles or trees. A cable connects the robot to a battery. If the robot gets stuck, users can pull it out by tugging on its cable.

“Snake robots are good at moving through really tight spaces that machinery or people can’t access,” says Choset.

Snakes move by bending their long bodies. Engineers have been designing flexible robots that copy this ability for decades. Roboticist Howie Choset is one of those engineers. His snake robots can move in ways other robots can’t.

Choset’s robot design has many joints linked together. Each joint moves by itself. That allows the robot to slither like a real snake. The robot is remote-controlled. It can glide over bumpy surfaces. It can fit through cramped areas. And it can wrap around poles or trees. A cable connects the robot to a battery. A person can tug on the cable if the robot gets stuck. 

“Snake robots are good at moving through really tight spaces that machinery or people can’t access,” says Choset.