For sea turtle hatchlings struggling to reach the ocean,
success may depend on having flexible wrists that allow them to move without
disturbing too much sand. A similar wrist also helps a robot known as
“FlipperBot” move through a test bed, demonstrating how animals and
bio-inspired robots can together provide new information on the principles
governing locomotion on granular surfaces.
Watch a video on this project.
Both the baby turtles and FlipperBot run into trouble under
the same conditions: traversing granular media disturbed by previous steps.
Information from the robot research helped scientists understand why some of
the hatchlings they studied experienced trouble, creating a unique feedback
loop from animal to robot – and back to animal.