Gallery: The Coolest and Most Terrifying Biomimetic Robots
01salamandra
Building a better bot sometimes means looking outside the shop for inspiration. Borrowing from the characteristics and abilities of insects, birds, fish and mammals, scientists and engineers have designed robots that can [swim](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ocLMrlsD_nU), [jump](http://lis2.epfl.ch/CompletedResearchProjects/SelfDeployingMicroglider/), [snuggle](http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/4/prweb10616210.htm), and [steal books](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2nn1X9Xlps ). Some guy in Japan even built an [11-meter-long, smoke-blowing contraption](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pu24kTcDhvY) inspired by a rhinoceros beetle. Here are a few of the most awesome and most terrifying biomimetic robots around. __Above:__ *Salamandra robotica II* ------------------------ __Inspiration: Salamander__ __What's Cool About It: Sinuous, amphibious awesomeness.__ Bright yellow and lithe, this robot salamander easily navigates both land and water – and can keep going, even if it loses a few body parts. Developed by the Biorobotics Laboratory at Switzerland's EPFL, [Salamandra](http://biorob.epfl.ch/salamandra) can scuttle over sand, then wind sinuously through a pool of water. Or a lake, [to the amusement of swans](http://biorob2.epfl.ch/utils/movieplayer.php?id=245) (skip to 0:40 in linked video). But rather than being avian entertainment, Salamandra's primary purpose is to help scientists understand how the brain controls locomotion. *Video: Kostas Karakasiliotis, [Biorobotics Laboratory](http://biorob2.epfl.ch/utils/movieplayer.php?id=256), EPFL*
02robobees
RoboBees -------- __Inspiration: Flies__ __What’s Cool About It: Tiniest robotic insects built so far.__ A swarm of tiny robotic insects, each not much larger than a penny, has been unleashed by [scientists at Harvard University](http://micro.seas.harvard.edu/). Described today in *Science*, the RoboBees each weigh 80 milligrams, have a wingspan of 3 centimeters, and flap their wings 120 times each second. Like real flies, these robotic insects can hover and perform (somewhat) agile flight maneuvers. Unlike real flies, the robots’ wings are powered by a piezoelectronic activator – a type of ceramic strip that expands and contracts when electric current is applied. Researchers developed the piezoelectronic motor because the RoboBees are too small for conventional power sources and too large for microelectromechanical ones. Though the bees are still remotely controlled, the team is working on developing a tiny bee-brain that will guide the flying insects in their future adventures – some of which may include crop pollination, search-and-rescue operations, and environmental monitoring. *Video: Kevin Ma, Pakpong Chirarattananon*
03snakebot
SnakeBot -------- __Inspiration: Snakes. Evil snakes.__ __What's Terrifying About It: It strangles on impact.__ If you threw this robot snake at someone's head, it would coil around their neck and strangle them on impact. That's pretty bad-ass. That's not the only thing these robot-snakes can do, though. Developed by a team at [Carnegie Mellon University](http://biorobotics.ri.cmu.edu/projects/modsnake/), the SnakeBots can climb trees ([and your leg](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nas2OsHY92M&feature=player_embedded)), slither through pipes, swim, sidewind, corkscrew and coil – on a variety of terrains. Their versatility makes these snakes – with names like "Frostbite," "Spooky Snake," and "Molly" – ideal for investigating hard-to-reach places like caves, or [the lower floors of a collapsed building](http://gizmodo.com/5995390/being-trapped-in-a-building-seems-less-scary-than-this-robot-snake-rescuing-you). *Video: CMUBiorobotics/[YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8jvwrvbYAiY)*
04rat-bot
Rat-Bot ------- __Inspiration: Rats.__ __What's Cool About It: Whisker-guided and adorable.__ Instead of cameras, robo-rat uses its whiskers to navigate in the dark, much as real rats do. Moving back and forth at five times per second, the faux whiskers tell the robot – called SCRATCHbot – when it's approaching objects. Developed by a team at the [Bristol Robotics Lab](http://www.brl.ac.uk/researchthemes/biomimeticandneuro-robotics/iceascratchbot2006-2009.aspx), the tailless rat is really rather adorable for a bright yellow metal version of a rodent. *Video: BristolRoboticsLab/[YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTekO_RQCzE)*
05darpas-bot-pack
Bot Pack -------- __Inspiration: Dogs, and a mule.__ __What's Terrifying About It: Listening, following, cinder block-chucking.__ In an earlier incarnation, headless BigDog the RoboMule merely stomped around, able to carry 340 pounds over rough terrain, uphill, going 4 miles per hour. Then Boston Dynamics added a little bit of sinister bling: A fifth arm (*head*) that can throw stuff. Like, cinder blocks and stuff. How convenient. But there are more members in the pack. AlphaDog can carry 400 pounds for 20 miles, and can even [stand up after lying down](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/09/alphadog-robot/). http://www.youtube.com/embed/SSbZrQp-HOk And, the LS3 – more a mule than a dog – [can follow voice commands](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/12/darpa-ls3/). And you. It's kind of like Siri, except less evil. http://www.youtube.com/embed/hNUeSUXOc-w *Videos: (top) Boston Dynamics/[YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2jvLalY6ubc), (middle) Boston Dynamics/[YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SSbZrQp-HOk), (bottom) DARPA/[YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hNUeSUXOc-w)*
06robo-ants
Robo-Ants --------- __Inspiration: Argentine ants__ __What's Cool About It: Pathfinding bots that learn from one another.__ Each of these ant-mimicking robots is named Alice – and the colony of the sugar cube-size machines is called "The Alices." Together, the roboants work to find and learn the most efficient path through an obstacle course – much as real ants do, when they're on the move. As described in March in *PLOS Computational Biology*, [the Alices use light](http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1002903) (instead of chemical pheromones) to mark their route. Light-detecting antennae search for the illuminated botsteps of previous Alices, which leave a blazing trail through the maze. As more and more bots travel the same road, it becomes brighter and brighter, eventually helping direct the entire colony from point Ant to point Bot. *Video: NewsInWorldNow/[YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=07ZMnUfkWdY)*
07caterbotter
Caterbotter ----------- __What's Cool About It: Rolls into a ball and escapes robot-haters.__ __Inspiration: Ballistic caterpillars__ When threatened, some caterpillars will snap themselves into a wheel shape and roll away at astonishing speeds. For whatever reason, scientists from Tufts University decided to create a robot that could mimic the ballistic rolling action of these caterpillars. We're glad they did. Made from pliant silicon rubber studded with shape memory coils, the 10-centimeter-long soft-bodied robot, called GoQBot, can curl into a ball and charge away in less than 100 milliseconds. Zoom, zoom! *Video: InstituteofPhysics/[YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqt4EIQRwxk)*
08spiderbot
Spiderbot --------- __Inspiration: Arachnids__ __What's Cool About It: Wearable, personal space defending, anti-creep device.__ Dutch designer Anouk Wipprecht and Austrian software developer Daniel Schatzmayr have taken shoulder pads to a new extreme with The Robotic Spider Dress. Much to our delight, this biomimetic fashion statement crawled onto the catwalk earlier this year. With its combination of sensors and animated legs, the dress protects wearers from objects that might get too close. Don't mess with this dress, people. *Video: Anouk Wipprecht/[YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Aybs6rmcjk8)*
09hummingbot
Hummingbot ---------- __Inspiration: Hummingbird__ __What's Cool About It: Slightly sinister.__ Equipped with a video camera, this remote-controlled spybot is an accomplished hummingbird impostor. Agile and weighing about as much as a AA battery, the robot-in-disguise can fly, hover, and maneuver like a real hummingbird. Which is all good, except that hummingbirds aren't found much outside the Americas – which means that this DARPA-sponsored creation might stand out in more than a few places. *Developed by [AeroVironment](http://www.avinc.com/nano). Video: theworacle/[YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=a8ZbtZqH6Io#!)*
10stairbot
Stairbot -------- __Inspiration: Human.__ __What's Terrifying About It: Stair-climbing, treadmilling, push-upping rescue bot.__ DARPA has a robot that can climb stairs and run on treadmills. Built by Boston Dynamics, the humanoid looks a bit like a cross between a person and General Grievous. But it's supposed to help rescue people. [A more recent video](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/10/darpa-rescue-robot/) shows a DARPA-bot scrambling over obstacles and jumping. We are certain these bots will harness their power for good. Right? *Video: DARPA/[YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqCmX5dMYHg)*
11bug-bots
Bug-Bots -------- __Inspiration: Bugs with guns.__ __What's Terrifying About It: They can kill people.__ Now you see them, now they kill you. These flying mini-drones, depicted in an animation, are called Micro Air Vehicles. The Air Force [has constructed a "micro-aviary"](http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/03/unmanned-flight/horgan-text") for testing small drones. A swarm of these robot-soldiers could [lie in wait for weeks](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2008/12/video-air-force-3/), then spring into action and unleash a chemical attack. With their ability to blend into cityscapes, crawl under windowsills, and navigate hallways, these tiny soldiers pack a lethal punch into a very small amount of space. *Video: WTWH Video/[Design World](http://videos.designworldonline.com/video/Air-Force-Bugbots)*
12robuttocks
Robuttocks ---------- __Inspiration: Human__ __What's Terrifying About It: Everything.__ We're not sure what, or why, but this expressive, responsive bit of butt-bot is probably the scariest thing we've seen since [bat-eating spiders](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/03/bat-eating-spiders/). *Video: novriki/[YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vhHo6CUq4-o)*
