Hi, it’s Katrina!
From bionic kangaroos to running cheetahs, here are the 8 coolest robot animals!
8.
RoboBee
Of all the interesting creations on this list, none are as small or as delicate as the RoboBee.
Researchers from the Wyss Institute at Harvard University began this project with the vision
of developing a small robot capable of flying and landing effectively.
And, they succeeded!
The RoboBee is half the size of a paperclip and weighs only 80 milligrams.
To put that into perspective, it would take about 30 of them to equal the weight of a
penny!
Pretty cool, huh?
They have tiny wings attached to components that react to voltage being applied to them,
causing them to contract, and thus flap.
Currently, the RoboBees must be tethered to a power source in order to work.
However, the researchers at Harvard hope to give them their own contained power sources
and sophisticated sensor systems to allow them to sense and traverse their environments
both independently and in groups.
Kind of a scary thought, isn’t it?
The lead researcher on the project, E. Helbling, believes that the implications of a swarm
of RoboBees could be great in agriculture, or search and rescue.
These bees could effectively cross-pollinate plants like the real thing!
The RoboBee project is certainly still in its early stages, but what it’s already
capable of, is impressive given its tiny size.
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7.
BigDog Likely the oldest creature on this list is
BigDog!
In 2005, DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) funded a project to develop
an all-terrain robot to carry military gear for soldiers in areas that were too rough
for conventional vehicles.
So, engineering and robotics company, Boston Dynamics teamed up with Foster-Miller, JPL,
and Harvard University to develop the perfect robotic creature: BigDog.
BigDog is a quadrupedal robot that can walk, run, and climb difficult terrain, all while
carrying loads of heavy equipment!
It’s relatively small at only 3 feet long, and 2.5 feet tall, but it weighs in at a heavy
240 pounds!
The machinery needed to operate him was quite heavy.
It is powered by an engine that operates a hydraulic system which allows the legs to
move.
It also features on-board computers with numerous sensors that measure things like leg joint
position, ground contact, and the force exerted on the joints.
It also has an advanced gyroscope and a stereoscopic vision system.
And these are just the sensors for movement!
All of these work together to allow BigDog to run up to 4 mph, climb 35 degree slopes,
run across uneven or slippery ground, and carry up to 340 pounds.
And it can do this all without losing its balancing or missing a step!
It certainly seems like the ideal robotic pack mule for the military.
However, BigDog was eventually rejected by DARPA and discontinued in 2015.
The gas-powered engine was just too loud for the robot to be used in military applications,
people could hear it coming from miles away.
Maybe one day, this dog will have its time to shine.
6.
CRAM Roach You may have seen creepy crawlies in your
home or outside before, but none like this.
Researchers at UC Berkeley began looking into how cockroaches can seem to fit into any space,
no matter how small, and get into just about anywhere.
What they discovered was that roaches are able to squeeze into tight spaces by repositioning
their legs further out to their sides, allowing them to flatten down to a fraction of their
original height.
They took this information and other findings to develop the robotic cockroach known as
the Compressible Robot with Articulated Mechanisms, or CRAM for short.
It fits in the palm of your hand, so it is not quite as small as an actual cockroach,
but the robot can easily traverse through spaces half its original height.
Over time, the researchers hope to make the CRAM smaller and outfit it with cameras, microphones,
and sensors.
That way, in the event of an earthquake or other disaster, they can be used to effectively
search the rubble and debris for trapped survivors.
They also hope that the CRAMs can be used to determine which piles of rubble are stable
so that rescuers can quickly and safely find survivors.
It also has tons of spying implications!
Just throwing that out there!
The original prototype was built by study leader Kaushik Jayaram for less than $100
using simple electronics and motors, cardboard, polyester, and some origami skills.
Now a relatively inexpensive version is being sold as a kit by Dash Robotics.
So, for a reasonable price, you could have your very own robotic roach!
Pretty cool, huh?
5.
BionicKangaroo
German engineering and automation company Festo is known for its many robotic animal
ventures, including, BionicKangaroo.
This little Joey is able to mimic the jumping movements of a real kangaroo with impressive
accuracy.
It is even able to use the momentum from one jump to help it launch into the next, a skill
that gives real kangaroos such impressive stamina.
BionicKangaroo can be powered by either a small air compressor, or a high pressure storage
tank.
It varies depending the specific needs of the model.
This compressed air is used to move the pneumatic muscles developed by Festo to allow it to
jump.
However, with this robot, it is not just about jumping, but sticking the landing too.
This robot is outfitted with a very special kinematic control system to keep it stable
so it doesn’t tumble right over with every jump.
Between the air and electrical systems, the BionicKangaroo is able to make a number of
sophisticated, but subtle movements that allow for its jumping locomotion.
It first shifts its center of gravity forward, then kicks off the ground.
Meanwhile the onboard computer assesses its position and then pulls the legs forward and
lifts the tail.
Finally, once the feet hit the ground, it repositions and prepares all over again for
the next leap in a matter of moments.
Festo states that BionicKangaroo was primarily an experiment in learning methods in which
robots can recover energy through combining pneumatic and electronic systems.
Clearly this robotic animal is leaps and bounds ahead of the competition.
Hehe!
4.
Cheetah 2
So far on this list we’ve seen robots that can run, and robots that can jump, but this
one can do both!
And at astounding speeds!
The innovative minds at MIT, first announced their plans for the “Cheetah” back in
2009, and within 3 years, they released test footage of it walking and moving.
It was about the same size and weight of an actual cheetah, could achieve speeds of up
to 13 mph, and was more energy efficient than any other running animal robots out there.
Several years later MIT was still improving their cheetah and by 2015, they had their
robot not only running better, but detecting and jumping over obstacles autonomously!
The newer Cheetah 2 has no cameras to see with, but is outfitted with a laser system
to measure the distance and height of upcoming obstacles.
Once it detects an obstacle, it uses a three-part algorithm developed by the research team to
determine what step length it needs to adjust to in order to be better positioned for the
jump, when to jump, and how to stick the landing.
And the Cheetah 2 is able to figure all this out on the fly.
Currently it is able to leap clear over 18-inch high obstacles, which is over half of the
Cheetah’s height, while running at 5 mph.
Granted, it only succeeds in jumping over 7 out of 10 obstacles, but it is still doing
a good job!
The Cheetah was actually funded by DARPA just like BigDog, so the team hopes it will see
some military and disaster relief use in the future.
Until then, we can only watch it with awe and respect!
3.
Pleurobot
In 2016, the scientists at the Switzerland-based EPFL recorded X-ray videos of salamanders
walking and moving.
Why?
To make a robot that can mimic its movement with stunning accuracy.
This creation is called the Pleurobot.
The name “Pleurobot” comes from the salamander species it is based on: Pleurodeles waltl.
Made from 3D printed bones and motorized joints, this robot is able to walk, crawl, and even
swim underwater just like its organic counterparts!
It takes 27 motors and a special 11-piece spinal column with electronic circuitry throughout
to get it moving.
Developing such a creature wasn’t easy though.
The team had to take X-ray videos of salamanders from above and from the sides while tracking
as many as 64 points of motion in its skeleton, while it demonstrated different types of motion.
Other than just constructing a cool salamander robot, the primary goal of developing the
Pleurobot was to help open the doors for further research and understanding in many other fields.
In paleontology it can be used to hypothesize an animal’s locomotion.
In neuroscience, the spinal column and circuitry can help us understand the neurological systems
in living organisms.
It can help us understand things like detailed limb motion and ground reaction force in biomechanics.
Or in robotics, it can be used for practical applications such as search and rescue or
exploration.
The pleurobot is truly an all in one salamander.
2.
iStruct aka Charlie
You know the old saying “shoot for the moon?”
Well this robot might just make it.
Meet the iStruct, aka Charlie the robotic chimp.
Developed by the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (also called DFKI),
Charlie serves as their solution to future unmanned missions to the moon.
DFKI chose to make a robot chimp because of its stability and versatility and because
it allowed them to study several different modes of locomotion.
With the four limbs it has the ability to move and climb more steadily, or it can also
stand and walk on just its hind legs for greater speed.
By enabling the robot to do both, it can choose which method of movement to use depending
on the terrain it encounters.
Much like a real chimp, the feet and hands have been designed to have multiple points
of contact with the ground.
It has over 40 different sensors to measure and detect force, collision, and ground contact.
The truly astounding innovation in this ambulant beast is the fact that it has a functioning
spine!
The spine itself plays a big role in the movement and use of the legs.
Because of the addition of an actuated spine, the robot actually requires less force to
move overall and thus it saves more energy.
However, they are still a long ways to go.
They must develop Charlie further with more advanced technologies until they are sure
he can withstand the harsh environment of space without any problems.
1.
StickyBot
All of the robots on this list borrow designs or concepts from animals in nature.
However, the StickyBot from Stanford University takes it to a new level.
You could say to a molecular level.
The StickyBot is a lizard robot modeled after geckos.
Its primary function is to climb up smooth surfaces with ease.
However, it is not as simple as it sounds.
Previous climbing robots would have likely used suction cups or adhesives to stick to
surfaces.
The goal with StickyBot was to climb using dry adhesion, meaning no use of any kind of
sticky stuff.
To achieve this, the developers of this robot took a page out of the gecko’s book.
Geckos are able to climb smooth surfaces because the pads of their feet have small ridges in
them.
Each ridge in turn has millions of thin hairs that are all split at the ends.
These split hairs facilitate a molecular attraction with the surface called van der Waals force.
This force allows their feet to stick when pulled in one direction, while releasing with
ease if pulled in the opposite direction.
This dry adhesion is much more preferable to using other kinds of adhesives because
it saves the robot energy.
With adhesives like glue or tape, it sticks easily, but it takes much more effort to remove,
which would be really inefficient for a robotic climber.
Since its first development, there have been three total iterations of the StickyBot.
The newest one is able to climb painted metal and glass surfaces with ease and can even
carry up to 100 pounds with it!
Currently they are planning on repurposing the adhesive technology for personal human
use while also continuing to work on their robotic reptile.
Maybe one day you’ll be climbing up the walls along with a StickyBot!
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