There’s a harsh truth underlying all robotic research: compared to evolution, we suck at making things move. Nature has a couple billion years of method making things that can slide, hop, fly, swim as well as run, so why not leverage those platforms? That’s the concept behind this turtle with a navigation robot strapped to its back.
This reminds us somewhat of an alternate world sci-fi story by S.M. Stirling called The sky People. In the story, Venus is teeming with dinosaurs that Terran colonists utilize as beasts of concern with brain implants that stimulate pleasure centers to manage them. While the team led by [Phill Seung-Lee] at the Korean advanced Institute of science as well as innovation isn’t likely to get as much work from the red-eared slider turtle as the colonists in the story got from their bionic dinosaurs, there’s still plenty to discover from a configuration like this. utilizing what amounts to a head-up screen for the turtle in the type of a strip of LEDs, together with a food dispenser for positive reinforcement, the bionic terrapin is trained to partner food with the flashing LEDs. The LEDs are then utilized as cues as the turtle navigates between waypoints in a tank. Sadly, the full short article is behind a paywall, however the video below provides you a taste of the gripping action.
Looking for something between amphibian as well as fictional dinosaurs to play mind games with? Why not make your finest buddy bionic?