Snails team up with biofuel cells to make electricity
Sugar is what provides energy for many animals but what if it could provide something more?
Biofuel cells are capable of converting chemical energy into electrical energy. Continue reading
Why it’s all about biomimetics
Back in the 14th century, a man notorious for both his artistic talent and scientific ability, studied birds in an attempt to create a machine that was capable of flight. Today, Leonardo da Vinci’s endeavour may be considered one of the early examples of biomimicry. Corresponding to the word’s Greek roots, the quickly growing field is centred on the imitation of life in a vast array of contexts .
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Machines give us clues about communication in the animal kingdom
Chimps, birds and bees are just a few of the many animals that communicate with each other when searching for food. Since everyone’s got to eat, communication during foraging is essential among social animals. In order to study how different types of communication strategies might evolve, the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) teamed up to conduct a joint research project.
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Why soft robots are all the rage
Squids, snails and other invertebrates can do things that animals with hard skeletons can’t. For example they can squeeze through small cracks and move across rough terrain. Likewise, soft-bodied robots have some important advantages over traditional rigid ones. The video above displays a soft robot developed by George M. Whitesides and his team at Harvard University.
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Check out the worm-bot
This robot is modeled after the Caenorhabditis elegans, a tiny roundworm whose very simple nervous system allows it to carry out complex body movements. Its designer Dr. Jordan Boyle, from the schools of Computing and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds, hopes that this robot can one day be used for rescue missions.
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Europe supports new biological approaches for Information and Communications Technology
Evolvable hardware, artificial cells, bidirectional interfaces between mechanical and living entities. These are all examples of how biology can be applied to ICT.
Tony Prescott, professor of cognitive
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An interdisciplinary field where live cells provide building blocks for engineers.
Tissue engineering
provides a means for
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The Multimodal Brain Orchestra
Visual art, music and dance allow people to express their emotional experiences and put them on display for others. By using their bodies people produce masterpiece paintings, play glorious symphonies or put on amazing dance recitals but what would happen if we took our bodies out of the equation? This is what the Multimodal Brain Orchestra created by the Synthetic, Perceptive, Emotive and Cognitive Systems (SPECS) group at the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona wanted to investigate.
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A fascinating field that allows for the revolutionary use of new materials
Biomechatronics integrates biological elements into artificial devices. A dynamic is created where the biological element carries out a specific function to the system, while the artificial device promotes the adaptation and maintenance of the biological element.
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Approximately as large as pills, these tiny robots are made to self-assemble in a human stomach
Earth’s little critters give scientists big ideas
Paolo Dario is a Professor of Biomedical Robotics at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa who is heavily involved in the study of micro-machines for medical purposes. In coordination with 3 other European Universities, Paolo headed the The ARES Project Continue reading