Biomorphic Engineering

BIOMORPHIC ENGINEERING

RANA, IAN OWEN A.


BIOMORPHIC engineering is the engineering or scientific efforts to copy and utilize what we understood about the functional benefits of physical bodies of creatures, such as the utility of arms, hands, fingers, legs, and feet.


BIOMIMETIC engineering means to superset or to mimic biological function. Walking, flying, seeing, screaming, etc.NEUROMORPHIC engineering is theconstructionof computational devices that utilize thephysical structure and/or representationsfound inbiological nervoussystems.

The idea of building machines that reflect biological structures is certainly not new. From Leonardo Da Vinci who dreamt of winged flying machines to the clockwork automata, humans have been trying to build machines that can perform tasks as successfully as the myriad of creatures in our natural world.


Biomorphic roboticsis a sub-discipline ofroboticsfocused upon emulating themechanics,sensor systems, computingstructures and methodologies used byanimals. In short, it is building robots inspired by the principles ofbiologicalsystems.

One of the most prominent researchers in the field of biomorphic robotics has beenMark W. Tilden, who has takenRodney Brooks' theory of removing the world model from robots to a low hardware level not even using microprocessors. This is not to say the lack of microprocessors makes something biomorphic - quite the contrary. There is a huge amount of work be done implementing biological nervous and neural networks into computing devices.In contrastM. Anthony Lewishas used the field of biomorphic robots to study how humans and animals use "biologically inspired principles" to negotiate the complexities of the real world.The difference betweenneuromorphicsand biomorphics is believed to be that neuromorphics focuses on analogue control and sensor systems as opposed to biomorphics trying to implement biological methods on the whole system.An excellent example of a biomorphic machine is therobot snake.


The Biomorphic Robotics Lab (BRL) performs research in this area, striving to unravel the mysteries and replicate the tremendous capabilities of legged animals, which also has applications to human prosthetics. This research is multi-disciplinary, largely across the following fields.





TYPES OF BIOMORPHIC SYSTEM1. Ultralow-power & highly energy efficient sensing, actuating, and information-processing systems.2. Signal processing & pattern-recognition systems that need to operate in noisy environments & over a wide dynamic range of inputs.



3. Robusts & efficient computation with noisy & unpredictable devices.4. Systems with feedback, adaptation, & learning at multiple spatial & temporal scales.5. Systems that integrate technologies from diverse domains.6. Self-repairing systems



7. Self-assembling systems.8. Energy-harvesting systems.9. Robotic systems.



Mark W. TildenBest known for his invention of BEAM robotics and the WowWee Robosapien humanoid robot.

He is a robotics physicist who produces complex robotic movements from simple analog logic circuits, often with discrete electronic components, and usually without a microprocessor.

Born in theUKin 1961, raised in Canada, he started at theUniversity of Waterloothen moved on to theLos Alamos National Laboratorywhere he developed robots such as the SATbot which instinctively aligned itself to themagnetic fieldof the earth, de-mining insectoids, "Nervous Network" theory and applications, interplanetary explorers, and behavioral research into many solar-powered "Living Machines" of his own design.Mark and his robots have been featured on several television specials, such as "Robots Rising" (Discovery), "The Shape of Life" (PBS), "TechnoSpy" (TLC), "Extreme Machines - Incredible Robots" (TLC), "The Science behind Star Wars" (Discovery), as well as many magazines, newspaper publications, websites, and books. A comprehensive article on Tilden (December-2010) by Thomas Marsh is viewable online through the "Robot" Magazine website.[2]Mark was a technical consultant for the robot scenes in the 2001 movieLara Croft: Tomb Raiderand his robots have been prominent in many movies includingThe 40 Year Old Virgin,Paul Blart Mall Cop,X-Men: The Last Stand, and more. His robots are also continuous background props in the TV seriesThe Big Bang Theory.


Rodney Allen Brooks(born December 30, 1954, inAdelaide,Australia) is the formerPanasonic professor of roboticsat theMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Outside the scientific community Brooks is also known for his appearance in a film featuring him and his work,Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control. He is now the chairman and chief technical officer for Rethink Robotics (formerly Heartland Robotics) in Boston

Scientific approachIn his paper, "Elephants Don't Play Chess.", Brooks argued that interacting with the physical world is far more difficult than symbolically reasoning about it.Symbolic computationalapproaches to creating intelligent machines had long been the focus of AI since the days ofAlan Turing, directly tracing back to the work ofGottlob Frege. Brooks focused instead on biologically-inspired robotic architectures (e.g., thesubsumption architecture) that address basic perceptual and sensorimotor tasks.In the late1980sBrooks and his team introducedAllen, a robot usingsubsumption architecture. Currently, Brooks' work focuses on engineering intelligent robots to operate in unstructured environments, and understanding human intelligence through building humanoid robots.[edit]Career summary[edit]LeadershipBrooks formerly serves as Panasonic Professor of Robotics at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology. He was also co-founder andChief Technical Officerand sits on the Board ofiRobotCorp. From July 1, 2003, until June 30, 2007, he was director of theMIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory; prior to that, he was director of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. He left MIT in 2008 to found a new company, Rethink Robotics (formerly Heartland Robotics), where he serves as chairman and Chief Technical Officer.[edit]ResearchHe received a degree in mathematics fromFlinders Universityof South Australia and a Ph.D. in Computer Science fromStanford Universityin 1981 under the supervision ofThomas Binford.[1]He has held research positions atCarnegie Mellon UniversityandMITand a faculty position atStanford University. He joined the faculty ofMITin 1984.His previous research includesbehavior based roboticsand the *Cog project.


M. Anthony Lewis (roboticist)M. Anthony Lewis, Ph.D., is a robotics researcher and CEO of Iguana Robotics, a company specializing in the development of biomorphic robotics technologies.He is known for his work in evolutionary and biomorphic robotics, formation control of robotic systems, and investigations into the basis of movement control in humans and robots. He collaborated on a project to help paralyzed people, using studies of an eel's nerve circuitry.In recent work, Lewis and Colleagues have demonstrated a robot that claimed to be the most biologically accurate model of human locomotion to date. This robotic uses muscle architecture much like a human being, a simplified neural circuit meant to mimic neurons in the spinal cord, and sensory feedback mimicking the primary sensory pathways found in human.




Asnakebotis abiomorphichyper-redundantrobotthat resembles asnake.

Asnakebotis abiomorphichyper-redundantrobotthat resembles asnake.Snake robots come in all shapes and sizes, from the three meters long, fire fighting snakebot developed bySINTEF,[1]to a medical snakebot developed atCarnegie Mellon Universitythat is thin enough to maneuver around organs inside a human chest cavity. Though snakebots can vary greatly in size and design, there are two qualities that all snakebots share. First, their small cross section to length ratio allows them to move into, and maneuver through, tight spaces. Second, their ability to change the shape of their body allows them to perform a wide range of behaviours, such as climbing stairs or tree trunks.Additionally, many snake robots are constructed by chaining together a number of independent links. This redundancy makes them resistant to failure, because they can continue to operate even if parts of their body are destroyed.


Snakebots can be used by animal control officers to subdue rabid or invasive creatures. Raccoons, barn cats, and large rodents typically respond to the snakebot's presence with attacks upon which the snakebot will emit an electrical shock and paralyze the aggressor.


FlyTech Dragonfly is the world's first radio-controlled flying insect. With its' ultra-light, dual-wing design, crash-resistant structure, the dragonfly is an easy-to-fly aeronautical marvel.

Includes a tail stabilizer for additional control Available in 2 frequencies Wingspan - 16 inches (~40 cm) Power - Rechargeable lithium polymer battery Flight time - Up to 10 minutes on a single charge 6 x AA batteries


Evidence that the robotic dinosaur revolution is spreading, this Roboraptor comes fully assembled and ready to roam the earth with his robotic dinosaur cousins. He has movable arms, a sweeping tail, and a chomping jaw full of pointy teeth.

Measuring 32 inches from nose to tail, the Roboraptor is a big enough to intimidate any smaller predator that may come along.


Wowwee's Roboreptile is an often startling robotic toy that, once you get the hang of its wonky controls, is actually pretty fun. Like other Wowwee robots, there's a preprogrammed animation that goes off when it is first powered up.

He explores his environment, using advanced artifical intelligence, and moves around with realistic biomorphic motions and a cool tail-whipping action. Requires 9 AA batteries


If you're looking to delve a little deeper into the world of robotics, but don't exactly have the time or soldering skills to build your own, you'll be glad to know that you'll be able to hack away at your lovable Robosapien RS Media using Lego's Mindstorm NXT system.


This adorable robotic panda is a fun-loving friend who likes to tell stories, play games and sing songs. Robopanda's engaging personality and bright animated eyes will immediately endear him to children of all ages.

There's no need for a remote control -- you can interact with Robopanda directly through his integrated audio and touch sensors. Using capacitive touch sensor technology, he knows when he is being patted, touched, or stroked and responds accordingly.

In the not-too-distant future,

1. Robotic canines will gallop up stairs and over collapsed beams in burning buildings, locating occupants for rescue personnel,

2. Robotic horses will walk through streams and down hillsides in thick jungle, carrying heavy munitions and medical supplies alongside soldiers,

3. Robotic cockroaches will climb up walls and inverted on ceilings in dark buildings, locating persons inside for law enforcement officers, and

4. Robotic gophers will tunnel through distant planetary terrains, seeking life-supporting materials in preparation for a human visit.

Thank You!!! :)

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Biomorphic Engineering