"Robotic Dinosaur Unveils Prehistoric Feathered Dinosaur Tactics"
South Korean researchers have developed a robot dinosaur, Robopteryx, to test the hypothesis that feathered dinosaurs may have used their wings and tails for threatening displays to flush out prey. The robot was used to mimic displays of the prehistoric omnivore, Caudipteryx, in front of grasshoppers, and the researchers found that the insects were more likely to flee when the robot deployed its wings and tail moves. This suggests that such displays may have triggered ancient escape circuitry in the insect brain, potentially driving the evolution of larger and stiffer feathers in feathered dinosaurs. However, some scientists remain skeptical of this idea, emphasizing the potential for gliding rather than threatening displays in the early evolution of flight-type feathers.