Researchers Build Salamander Robot With 3D-Printed Bones and Motorized Joints

Posted on July 5, 2016

Researchers at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have developed a salamander robot that can swim and walk like a salamander. The robot is named Pleurobot. The researchers used 3D-printed bones, motorized joints and electronic circuitry to mimic the nervous system of the salamander species, Pleurodeles waltl.

IEEE reports that EPFL researchers have spent years working to make sure Pleurobot moves as much like a real salamander as possible. They have engaged in in-depth studies of high-speed recordings of salamanders walking in order to replicate it in the robot. They have focused on the spinal cord of the salamander. IEEE says Pleurobot has 27 motors and 11 spine segments. This is less than a real salamander but enough to replicate the bending of a real salamander's spine.

Kostas Karakasilliotis who designed the first versions of the Pleurobot, says in a statement, "Animal locomotion is an inherently complex process. Modern tools like cineradiography, 3D printing, and fast computing help us draw closer and closer to understanding and replicating it."

There have been other salamander bot designs such as Salamandra robotica II in the past.

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