When you have a robot that carries the name Salamandra Robotica II, you know for sure that it has something to do with salamanders, where the image above depicts the Salamandra Robotica II making its way to take a dip in Lake Geneva. It can be quite unnerving checking out this robot, considering how it seems to have gained the gait of an actual salamander, where it will be able to swim (meaning it is waterproof to a certain extent, or should we say, water resistant), crawl, and even walk like the real deal.
Just how does the Salamandra Robotica II do it? Well, it is capable of performing such feats of mimicry that eerily resembles an actual salamander thanks to a digital neural network that instructs it to swim, crawl or walk, depending on the intensity of electrical signals that course through its “spinal cord” circuits. There is a remote “brain” laptop which plays the role of mimicking signals that a real salamander brain sends to its spinal cord, which then allows the Salamandra Robotica II to alter its speed, direction and gait through the simple act of triggering a simple electronic signal. Something tells me the military will have great and interesting use for this…
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