Collaborate Disseminate
In an age of increasingly advanced robotics, one team has well and truly bucked the trend, instead finding inspiration within the pinhead-sized brain of a tiny flying insect in order to build a robot that can deftly avoid collisions with very little ef… Continue reading Robot built with ‘insect brain’ can zip around obstacles with ease
While spider silk proteins are something you can make in your garage, making useful drag line fibers has proved a daunting challenge. Now, a team of scientists from Japan and …read more Continue reading Synthetic Spider Silk
French startup FinX was founded on the idea that the best way to preserve nature is to look to it for inspiration. Toward that end, it’s developed an outboard motor that allows boats to move through the water more naturally and efficiently, similar to … Continue reading Biomimetic electric outboard ditches propeller for fin-driven thrust
When it comes to tasks like the exploration of unstructured environments, traditional robots may be stymied by obstacles such as uncrossable gaps. That’s where the FiloBot comes in, as it grows like a self-supporting vine.Continue ReadingCategory: Robo… Continue reading Vine-inspired FiloBot “growing” robot 3D-prints its own body
Water striders are fascinating to watch, as they scoot across the water while supported by surface tension. Scientists have now built a tiny robotic version of the insect, which utilizes a record-breaking actuator to get a move on.Continue ReadingCateg… Continue reading Robotic insect moves across the water via world-record tech
Four years ago we told you about the MetaFly, a remote-control flapping-wing flying model insect made by French startup Bionic Bird (which did previously release a model bionic bird). Well, the company is now back with the new-and-improved X-Fly.Contin… Continue reading Bionic Bird releases upgraded X-Fly remote-control flying insect
If you’ve ever tried pulling a mussel off a rock, you’ll know that they’re pretty darn good at holding on. The secret to their success is a natural adhesive, which has now been replicated in a glue that could help keep orthopedic implants attached to b… Continue reading Mussel-inspired adhesive builds a bond between implants and bones
Trees such as maples have “fruits” known as samaras, which consist of a seed joined to a papery wing. Scientists have now created artificial samaras, which could be used to quickly and easily monitor soil temperature from the air.Continue ReadingCatego… Continue reading Airdropped spinning-seed-inspired sensors could monitor soil moisture
Over the years, we’ve heard about multiple systems that copy the structure of gecko feet in order to pick up delicate objects without breaking them. Korean scientists have now taken things further, by adding a means of harmlessly letting go of those it… Continue reading Gecko-inspired gripper does the twist to safely release delicate items
Earlier this year, we heard about some tiny robots that used a bio-inspired mechanism to jump high into the air. The makers of those devices have now tweaked the design, creating bots that jump very long distances – potentially allowing them to travers… Continue reading Tiny locust-inspired robots are champion long-jumpers