The best way to understand one of nature’s deadliest killers is apparently to build a robot version of one; scientists have built a robot dubbed ‘Ninjabot’ that mimics the mantis shrimp’s amazing attack mechanism.
The aim of the project is to better understand exactly how this attack mechanism works.
Despite its unassuming appearance, the mantis shrimp is one of nature’s most impressive predators. Its folded arms store energy like a spring, and strike at a speed of 30 meters a second. Clubs at the end of those arms smash prey at a speed only slightly lower than that of a bullet.
The Ninjabot can't achieve acceleration or force anywhere near to that of the actual mantis shrimp, but that was never the goal -- the Ninjabot is helping researchers uncover design principles and insights that "could be useful to anyone interested in generating super-high accelerations without explosives: store the energy in a big spring and use it to power something tiny."
Shrimp-Mimicking Robots
Ninjabot Mimics One of The Ocean's Most Underestimated Predators
Trend Themes
1. Robot Mimicking - Creating robots that mimic the attack mechanisms of animals for better understanding.
2. High Acceleration - Exploring ways to generate super-high accelerations without explosives.
3. Nature-inspired Design - Using insights from nature's predators to inspire innovative designs.
Industry Implications
1. Robotics - Applying robot mimicry techniques in the field of robotics for improved performance and capabilities.
2. Defense - Utilizing the concept of high acceleration without explosives for innovative defense mechanisms.
3. Product Development - Incorporating nature-inspired design principles for creating innovative products.