These bugs might solve the problem of robots that fall and can't get up

When a robot falls over, it usually can't get up — at least not without difficulty. To address the trouble of downed robots, scientists are taking a cue from the natural world, examining how click beetles right themselves after taking a tumble. 

Researchers at The University of Illinois of Urbana-Champaign found that the insects often topple over, but have a natural self-righting mechanism that robots could emulate. The team published their research online on Monday and also presented their findings at Living Machines 2017: The 6th International Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems at Stanford University. Read more...