Seahorse Tail Inspires Scientists to Create Next Generation Robots

Seahorses may provide scientists with some useful tips on how to design new tough and flexible robots.

The seahorse's unusual skeletal structure has attracted the attention of robot researchers, who say that the sea creature may provide them with some tips on how to design hardy and yet flexible machines.

"Human engineers tend to build things that are stiff so they can be controlled easily. But nature makes things just strong enough not to break, and then flexible enough to do a wide range of tasks. That's why we can learn a lot from animals that will inspire the next generations of robotics," assistant professor at the College of Engineering at Oregon State University Ross L. Hatton stressed, as cited by LiveScience.

The structure of the seahorse's tail is unique: due to its square bony plates, it can bend and twist and then rapidly return to its initial shape. Furthermore, the feature provides the animal with excellent crushing resistance that makes it a tough nut to crack for undersea predators.

According to the scientist, the structure of the tail provides the seahorse with "adequate dexterity and a tough resistance to predators, but it also tends to snap naturally back into place once it's been twisted and deformed."

"This could be very useful for robotics applications that need to be strong, but also energy-efficient and able to bend and twist in tight spaces," Ross Hatton stressed.

3D printed Seahorse tails to help build flexible #robots and body-armors #3dprinting http://t.co/zba94HlS1x pic.twitter.com/FLfOzGQSld

— Alvin Hughes (@makernewshub) 4 июля 2015

Indeed, robot researchers are now racking their brains over how to make "tough" and "hard" robots safe while operating around "soft" human organs. The robots which meet these demands would be indispensable while assisting with surgery or with search and rescue missions.

Hatton elaborated that by mapping out the unique structure of the seahorse's tail and using 3D printing, scientists may find new interesting solutions for robotics.

"It's a good opportunity, outside the simulations, to physically demonstrate how the tail works," Hatton pointed out.

Led by Michael Porter, an assistant mechanical engineering professor at Clemson University in South Carolina, a group of researchers made a simple 3D model of the tail and carried out a number of experiments with it.

Inspired by the results of their research work, scientists say that the seahorse's tail has provided them with bold new ideas which could soon be implemented in the robotics industry.