| Nov 26, 2013 |
Robot SafariEU goes wild at the Science Museum
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(Nanowerk News) This November, Robot SafariEU at the Science Museum in London, UK, will explore the fascinating world of biomimetic robots. Beginning on Wednesday 27 November 2013 at Lates and continuing over the weekend (30 November to 1 December 2013), visitors can trek through the un-natural habitats of these robots, interacting with creatures that swim, flap, and crawl, in a unique safari experience.
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Suitable for all ages, this free, three day festival will feature 13 biomimetic robots from across Europe, with many on display for the first time. Inspired by nature, this robotic safari includes an underwater turtle robot, a robotic cheetah-cub, a shoal of luminous robotic fish and the unveiling of Pleurobot, a robotic salamander.
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Roboticists from the UK and across Europe will be on hand to demonstrate their creations, helping visitors interact with a shoal of robot fish or stretch the Bat Bot’s wings while exploring the latest developments in biomimetic robotics. Visitors can also learn how to programme simple robots and build and race their own robots in a series of interactive workshops.
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“Visitors to Robot SafariEU will see not just how nature can inspire innovative robotic designs, but also how these biomimetic robots are actually advancing our understanding of the animals and plants they mimic,” explains Nicola Burghall, Content Developer for Robot SafariEU. “We’re very excited to be able to showcase some of the latest European biomimetic robotics research here at the Science Museum.”
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The Cheetah-cub robot, which mimics a cat’s legs and can walk, trot, bound and gallop, is just one of the biomimetic robots in Robot SafariEU. Lightweight, compact and self-stabilising, Cheetah-cub is an excellent research tool and has the potential to explore rough terrains. Built by the biorobotics laboratory at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, Cheetah-cub is the fastest running sub-30kg robot in the world, covering almost seven body lengths per second (1.42m/s).
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“We are very pleased to be bringing Cheetah-cub to Robot SafariEU and unveiling our most advanced amphibious robot, Pleurobot, for the first time,” explains Peter Eckert of EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne). “Cheetah-cub mimics much of cat morphology – featuring significant simplifications and better performance than traditional quadruped robots – while Pleurobot represents the next stage in our paleontology and robotics research, as we attempt to bring early tetrapods to 'life'.”
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Robot SafariEU is free and suitable for all ages. Timed tickets are required on 30 November and 1 December. These can be booked in person at the Science Museum’s ticket desks or via 020 7942 4000.
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