Top 10 Animal-Like Robots You do not Know Exist in Real Life

Designing animal robots is one of the myriad attempts by scientists in trying to overcome the difficulty in comprehending their internal mechanisms

In a recent study by University of Bristol scientists, it was demonstrated, using some real looking fish, how a predator fish overcomes its prey's erratic behaviour by inventing its own during the play. This is just one of the myriad attempts by scientists who have tried to overcome the difficulty of comprehending their internal mechanisms. That functionality apart from animal robots replaces the need for having real-life animals for pets. The specific anatomy animals possess such as an Octopus's grippy suction cups or the flexible elephant's trunk are fast finding their applications in solving everyday problems. Here is the list of the top 10 amazing animal robots, which can be replaced by the real ones.

1. MIRO:

MIRO is a biomimetic fish, that now is almost a celebrity for its ability to swim along with sharks. It is an artificial intelligence powered, palm-size robot fish which uses an automatic swimming algorithm. It is equipped with four laser sensors to steer clear of the obstacles in all four directions- front, left, right and down.  Measuring approximately 200*190*45 mm and weighing about 225g, it is a Bluetooth enabled waterproof fish aesthetically designed with colourful scales.

2. Bionic Bird:

A phone-controlled drone bird, inspired by biomimicry, its flight appears so natural that it looks like a real bird in the sky. Its anatomically correct face and flexible grey foam body render the near-natural look that even real birds cannot identify as something unnatural. Its wing speed of 18 times per second, faster than the natural beat speed, enables it to fly at 12mph.

3. Pleurobot:

It is a salamander-like robot developed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Unlike their previous approaches, they used recent advances in cineradiography to leverage the advantages of the biomimetic design process. Though it is not the fastest as its natural counterpart, the low centre of gravity gives it good stability for it to operate on different terrains including underwater. With a sophisticated neural network and individually controllable joints, it is best suited to carry out search and rescue operations.

4. Airacuda:

A remote-controlled soft bionic fish, a realistic animal robot, designed by Festo, is capable of escaping manoeuvres using fluidic elastomer actuators. It does so by achieving continuum-body motion in a short period of time. The soft muscle-like actuators generate curvature in a continuously deformable, vertebrate like body. Made using synthetic aramid fibre, Kevlar, and near-natural swim bladders, this animal robot is more than a bio-mimicked version of its natural counterpart.

5. Scorpio Hexapod:

Want to have Scorpion as a pet with a real sting? Probably the Scorpio Hexapod developed by Ghent University in Belgium is the right choice for you. It is a six-legged floor crawler that comes with a plastic plate main body with the 3D parts attached to it. Using infrared sensor technology, it can move in all directions giving the feel of the real presence of a living scorpion. If not convinced, try going near to it to feel its sting.

6. Aquajelly:

Developed by animal robot making company Festo, it has movements resembling real-life creatures. Not only that it has a biophysical mechanism which works like that of a living creature, but is also equally intelligent and adaptive to a variety of environmental conditions. Festo created this fascinating animal by bringing together a number of communication systems, composed of Zigbee short-range radio for land manoeuvres and LEDs when underwater.

7. Spotmini:

It is basically a dog robot with a long dinosaur-like neck and head. Equipped with a quick-disconnect battery, stereo cameras attached to the front, rear and sides, and a snake-like arm to reach difficult places, it definitely makes for the perfect pet not just for the sake of keeping company but also to help you out in your daily chores. Designed so articulately to keep its head stable while its body moving, definitely makes for a unique robotics invention.

8. Bionicopter:

A flying robot inspired by the flight of dragonfly is a lightweight robot designed with functionalities to imitate the complex flight characteristics of a real dragonfly.  The BionicOpter uses a bionic learning network to let the robot fly in all directions, hover on a spot, flap its wings, and fly forward and backwards just like the real one. In fact, it can handle more flight conditions than helicopters, motorised and non-motorized gliders combined.

9. Octobot:

Touted as the first autonomous soft robot, it is designed completely using 3D printed pneumatic chambers filled with gas. It literally contains zero electronic components, and batteries, and can move without being connected to a computer. The gas in the chambers expands and moves through the microfluid controller and the resulting pressure directs the gas down the tentacles making them move.

10. Snake Robot:

It's a snake-like robot developed by Carnegie Mellon researchers to help rescue operations in the 2017's Mexico City earthquake. They possess multiple actuated joints and hence multiple degrees of freedom which gives them superior ability to flex, reach and approach a huge volume with an infinite number of configurations.