beach creatures

There is a different kind of artificial life engineer out there that touches the soul in a unique and powerful way — Theo Jansen, kinetic sculptor and self-proclaimed creator of new life, is a Dutch artist whose goal is to create a herd of beautiful creatures who will roam the beaches of The Hague by [...]

cyborg beetle

DARPA is at it again.  Actually, they’ve been at it for a while.  Since about 2006, DARPA has been working on a system called HiMems: Hybrid Insect Micro-Electro-Mechanical System.  This research was debuted right here in Tucson Arizona just this past January 2008 at MEMS Conference!  The MEMS system is used to control the locomotion [...]

underwater robotics

This probably the most amazing type of biobot I’ve seen so far.  Currently in production, the jellyfish robot and the jelly airbot combine sophisticated  duplication of locomotion found in nature’s most curious creatures.  Bionic Learning Network, part of a Germany company named Festo, is developing a special example of technology imitating nature with their AquaJelly robot.
The AquaJelly [...]

hexbugs

Incredibly adorable and even more affordable, Hex Bugs can be purchased for a mere $10 at your local neighborhood Radio Shack. Hexbug is a very small, compact, six-legged toy robot: a real robot created purely for amusement. Hexbug has a few simple behavioral features. Once switched on, the hexbug will move forward with a very [...]

robotic lobster

Northeastern University Marine Science Center has a program developing neurotechnology based on the neurophysiology and behavior of animal models. In 2006, they created two separate examplse of biomimetic autonomous underwater vehicles. The first is an 8-legged ambulatory vehicle that appears very similar to a real lobster and was created for autonomous remote-sensing operations in rivers [...]