Robots vs Animals

Mapped: The World’s Animal Robot Hotspots

New artificial life forms are being created all over the planet. Here's a quick safari through some of the most important centers for animal robotics research.

Darren Garrett

9 sec read

A map of the world entitled "AInimal Planet." Caption 1 (United States): The iconic BigDog isn't the only design born from Boston Dynamics' Massachusetts lab. They've also assembled robotic cats, lizards, and even fleas. Caption 2 (Germany): No lab has a larger managerie of animal bots than Germany's Festo. Its creations include birds, kangaroos, jellyfish, ants, fish, manta rays, and even penguins. Caption 3 (Swtizerland): The robotics lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology is especially good at turning out turtles. Their 'Naro' bot mimimcs a sea turtle, while Beach-Bot resembles a tortoise. Caption 4 (South Korea): Tae Hun Kang's lab at DGIST in South Korea specializes in mechanical dogs and insects. Its stars are the canine pQ-1, pQ-2, and pQ-3 robots. Caption 5 (Japan): Snakes are the speciality of HiBot's laboratory in Tokyo. Their serpentine robots can slither through pipes, and perform well in underwater environments.
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The logo for How We Get To Next's Robots vs Animals month, showing an illustration of a Boston Dynamics robotic animal

How We Get To Next was a magazine that explored the future of science, technology, and culture from 2014 to 2019. This article is part of our Robots vs Animals section, which examines human attempts to build machines better than nature’s. Click the logo to read more.

Darren Garrett
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