Spurred by initial research in the US and based on biological experiments, scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland, have built a meter-long salamander robot controlled by an artificial spinal cord that mimics the real animal’s behavior. Although the switch between walking and swimming currently needs to be remote-controlled, such a robot is an important step towards more complex devices and — why not? — future androids.

A robotic salamander with an electric “spinal cord” that controls both its walking and swimming has been developed by US researchers. It could be a forerunner of robots with movements coordinated by an artificial nervous systems, they claim.

Source: New Scientist