Page 161 - Biomimetics: Technology Imitates Nature

ike areas contaminated with
radioactivity and deep space,
the depths of the sea are dangerous
places for human beings. Improvements
in electronics and computer technology have let us con-
struct robots that can work in such places. Eventually, this
discipline split away from electronics and mechanics to form a
branch of science in its own right—robotics. These days, those
who work with robotics have a new concept on their agenda: bio-
mimetic robotics.
Scientists and engineers engaged in robotics now believe
that designing robots for a particular task isn't very practical.
They consider it easier and makes better sense to build robots
that imitate the features and abilities of living things, indigenous
to the environments where these robots are to be employed. For
desert exploration, for example, they’ll create a biomimetic robot
resembling a scorpion or an ant. A book called Neurotechnology for
Biomimetic Robots contains the following information on this sub-
ject:
Biomimetic robots differ from traditional robots in that they are agile,
relatively cheap, and able to deal with real-world environments. The
engineering of these robots requires a thorough understanding of the
biological systems on which they are based, at both the biomechanical
and physiological levels.
... The ultimate goal is to develop a truly autonomous robot, one able
to navigate and interact with its environment solely on the basis of
sensory feedback without prompting from a human operator. 103