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Rolls-Royce is developing snake-like robots with their industrial partners as part of a European research project called MiRoR. New Scientist reports that the robots would be used to maneuver inside jet engines and repair any damage. They would be operated remotely, allowing experts to quickly fix any problems and reduce delays for passengers. 
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No living creature born on Earth has evolved to live in space. But the next wave of space robots may use "bio-inspired" designs based on specialized jellyfish cells, lemur climbing skills or even the fast-learning brain of a human child. Living organisms still have two huge advantages over even the best space robots — biological creatures can heal themselves and they have nervous systems capable of learning from the surrounding environment. At the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' Space 2012 Conference & Exposition on Sept. 12, robotics researchers from NASA and the U.S. military talked about their hopes for someday making space robots that mimic those biological abilities through self-repair mechanisms and "brains" based on learning software.
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There are bionic eyes, ears and even noses and robots can see and hear even better than humans. But a sense of touch is still a challenge. So a group of European researchers turned to whiskers for inspiration. Humans can sense quite a bit with their fingertips, but animals like cats and mice use whiskers as a touch sensor. One reason for looking to whiskers (otherwise known as vibrissae) is that they're more durable than skin-like sensors placed on robotic fingers, which get a lot of wear and tear. Whiskers are also good for dark places where a camera might not be able to see.
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A squishy robot inspired by the octopus and squid can change color and even glow in the dark.
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Today, the expanding field of what is now called biomimicry is giving engineers one more tool in their arsenal of design ideas.
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Inspired by batoid fishes, such as stingrays and manta rays, researchers from University of Virginia (U.Va.) and their colleagues from 3 other universities are developing an autonomous underwater vehicle that emulates the seemingly effortless but powerful swimming motions of rays. The vehicle has potential commercial and military applications, and could be used for undersea exploration and scientific research.
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Nissan's EPORO robot car prototypes are programmed to think and act like a school of fish to avoid collision.
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From
phys
Most animals move around by using their appendages, such as legs, wings, or fins. But a few exceptional creatures employ rolling as a mode of locomotion. Included in this group are rolling salamanders, spiders, caterpillars, and Mexican jumping beans. In a new study, researchers have investigated the seemingly random motion of Mexican jumping beans, which are not actually beans but hollow seeds containing moth larva, and found that their motion is not entirely random. The researchers developed an algorithm of the beans’ behavior, which they then used to program rolling robots to move in a controlled direction.
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A researcher from the University of Leeds has drawn inspiration from nature to build a robotic worm that can wiggle its way around obstacles. Dubbed worm-bot, the robot is modeled after the Caenorhabditis elegans nematode – a minuscule free-living worm that uses a very simple nervous system of just over 300 neurons to control the way it moves and functions.
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A tiny “living,” swimming robot that could be used to detect diseases in the human body is being developed by U.K. and U.S. researchers.
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Speedy tuna capable of swimming tirelessly in the Earth's oceans have inspired the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to fund a lookalike robot for underwater patrols. The "BIOSwimmer" robot features faithfully replicated fins and a flexible tail to pull off quick maneuvers like the real-life fish.Homeland Security made the choice to fund the robot made by the Boston Engineering Corporation in Waltham, Mass., with an eye toward missions such as exploring the flooded areas of ships, inspecting oil tankers or patrolling U.S. harbors to watch out for suspicious activity.
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The Cheetah robot from Boston Dynamics, makers of BigDog, has set a new legged-robot speed record, and actually tops out at speeds that would leave Usain Bolt behind — barely.
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A mola, or ocean sunfish, is a very big, very flat, and (in this reporter's opinion) rather silly looking tropical bony fish. Aerovioronment has used the sunfish as an inspiration for one of their latest proof of concept robots: Mola, an oceangoing robot that's powered by the sun.
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New robot prototypes mimic the Venus fly trap's ability to catch insects; preexisting technology could let them digest their prey to generate electricity.
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The first bio-inspired microrobot capable of not just walking on water like the water strider -- but continuously jumping up and down like a real water strider -- now is a reality. Scientists reported development of the agile microrobot, which could use its jumping ability to avoid obstacles on reconnaissance or other missions, in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
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University of Granada researchers have developed an artificial cerebellum (a biologically-inspired adaptive microcircuit) that controls a robotic arm with human-like precision.
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A fast-moving robot can perform acrobat-like flips mimicking the movements of cockroaches and geckos, which could help it become a model for small, highly mobile search-and-rescue robots to assist first responders.
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A new robotic jellyfish is powered by hydrogen, and could theoretically never run out of energy as it pulses through the sea. It’s designed to work as a search and rescue or surveillance ‘bot for the U.S. Navy.
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"After a disaster, this robotic spider can shuffle into tight spaces for assessing damage or for search & rescue."
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