DailyDirt: Bio-inspired Robots

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Humanoid robots are pretty cool, but robot designers are also looking at other kinds of animals that would make for useful robotic mechanisms. By mimicking nature, engineers might also learn how to make robots move more efficiently. Here are just some examples where biology inspired specific robotic designs. By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: airjelly, biomimicry, robots, smartbird
Companies: festo


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 5 Apr 2011 @ 5:18pm

    Who says pneumatically-transmitted messages can't be encrypted? Also, this may be harder to intercept than a radio broadcast (though I'd imagine a laser transmission would be even better).

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Nom du Clavier (profile), 5 Apr 2011 @ 5:26pm

    That air jelly might be all kinds of awesome when combined with the Serval project's mobile phone mesh network.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 5 Apr 2011 @ 5:27pm

    I would imagine that non-electronic communications would be highly desired by both the military and police forces. Until they were in widespread use, any messages would not be intercepted.

    Nor would pneumatically-transmitted messages be subject to EMP from atomic blasts that would certainly damage traditional forms of communication. Whether the crickets could be hardened against radioactivity is the question.

    Last, if these messages could be transmitted over distances, they would not be subject to radio frequency jamming.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Lawrence D'Oliveiro, 5 Apr 2011 @ 5:52pm

    Watch Out For Genetic Algorithms

    Genetically-programmed robots can often “cheat”.

    For example, I was reading in New Scientist a few years ago about a robot that was programmed to try to figure out how to fly. That is, it was given wings it could flap, and legs it could stand on, and given the goal of maximizing its altitude.

    So what does it do? It stands up on its legs and stretches up to its full height.

    Second try: the goal is modified to not involve stretching up to its full height.

    This time, it finds a book on the desk nearby, and raises itself by climbing on top of that.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 5 Apr 2011 @ 6:25pm

      Re: Watch Out For Genetic Algorithms

      I believe that is a flaw in the definition of flying by the researchers and not a problem with the algorithm, much like piracy is a problem of definition and not in fact a problem at all.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Michael Ho (profile), 5 Apr 2011 @ 7:31pm

      Re: Watch Out For Genetic Algorithms

      That reminds me.... I vaguely remember there was an experiment where some FPGAs were set to "evolve" to produce a square wave generator... and the chips "cheated" to accomplish the goal by copying and modifying an ambient 60Hz signal from unshielded electronics in the lab...

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 5 Apr 2011 @ 8:36pm

        Re: Re: Watch Out For Genetic Algorithms

        Unbelievable even computers pirate things now, what a shame.
        You can't even trust machines anymore.

        Sarcasm hint: LoL

        link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 5 Apr 2011 @ 8:38pm

        Re: Re: Watch Out For Genetic Algorithms

        One more:

        That is it, even machines now want to be freetards, those machines should be destroyed because they endanger the lifes of artists.

        That is no copying is downright theft.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 5 Apr 2011 @ 6:43pm

    And now Disney is jealous of the German researchers :)

    Haptic Radar could also give people spidey like senses.

    If you get a pressure sensor, with vibrators, you can not only communicate you can sense in the dark, just like the spiders hairs do, the thing is sensing the minute pressure differences that occur in the environment is difficult to sort out.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 5 Apr 2011 @ 6:50pm

    Cute little video of a robot cleaning the desk.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quzwHqjgrDw

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Bruce Burbank, 5 Apr 2011 @ 6:53pm

    That air jelly sure is graceful doing its nifty little ballet. But that sure does seem like quite a controlled environment. What happens when you get that thing outside and a big ol' gust of wind hits it? Followed by another and another....?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 5 Apr 2011 @ 7:00pm

    Festo - Air Penguin

    Maybe someday we will be exploring places using air robots.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Carl, 6 Apr 2011 @ 4:02am

    Air puff comms

    ...don't know why robots wouldn't just use encrypted radio transmissions.

    To me, the value of this is the lack of being detected during a covert op. A radio signal's location can be detected, even if it's content isn't readable.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.