WATCH: Lifelike robotic seal could help search and rescue

Posted by Lisa Abdellah on 29 April 2023

Scientists have created a robot that imitates how seals move on dry land could be more effective than a wheeled one, which usually struggles in search and rescue operations.   

Dimuthu Kodippili Arachchige at DePaul University in Chicago and his colleagues created this robot that moves like seals: bouncing, lunging and bobbing their heads to move their heavy bodies while pushing along the ground with their flippers, reports New Scientist.

It has four identical limbs made of silicone tubes you can fill with liquid to become rigid or drain to become limp, each encased in a hard, plastic skin. Selectively filling one or more of these limbs enables the robot to steer each limb in any direction. However, experiments showed the robot could move five centimetres per second faster backwards than forwards. 

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