A new robot named Pleurobot has been designed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology to walk, crawl, and swim like a real salamander.
We know what you’re thinking; human-like robots are all well and good, but why would anyone invest in replicating a salamander? That’s a good question, and it has a good answer. Pleurobot, designed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is a robot intended to replicate the 3D motion of a salamander’s skeleton.
Again, you might cry out, why? The answer lies in the unique makeup of the humble salamander’s spinal cord. A salamander relies on a low level of electrical stimulation in its spinal cord to walk, while it requires a higher level of similar stimulation to swim. Researchers hope that Pluerobot – named after the species Pleurodeles waltl – will help scientists understand vertebrate locomotion.
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Pleurobot was designed with the goal of exploring the relationship between spinal cord stimulation and a vertebrate anima’s movements. The net results of studies done on Pluerobot could go a long way to help develop neurologically-based prosthetic devices for human amputees and paraplegics.
This means that Pleurobot could help develop prosthetic hands, legs or arms that could be controlled by thought and electrical impulse through a spinal cord.
Pleurobot was designed with after researchers studied x-ray videos of salamanders walking and swimming. The species’ robot imitation was designed with the goal of accurately replicating 3D motion, and is touted as one of the first reconstructions “accurately based on the 3D motion of the animal’s skeleton.”
The robot was constructed out of 3D printed bones, motorized joints, and electronic circuitry designed to mimic a central nervous system. While Pleurobot bears fewer vertebrae than an actual salamander, researchers have optimized their placement so that the robot’s movements seem as authentic as possible.
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What are your thoughts on Pluerobot? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
