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Paleobionics

All articles tagged with #paleobionics

science-and-technology1 year ago•2 min saved

"Reviving Ancient Sea Creatures: The Birth of Soft Robotics"

Scientists are creating soft robots based on the movement of ancient animals, such as the pleurocystitids that lived 500 million years ago, using a process they call "paleobionics." These robots, made from soft materials, mimic the mechanical properties of living tissues and are suitable for medical devices, enhancing efficiency in various tasks, and potentially for ocean or space exploration. By studying extinct creatures, the researchers aim to increase understanding of evolution and biomechanics, potentially uncovering valuable insights from the 99% of animals that have existed throughout Earth's history.

via The Jerusalem Post|

#biomechanics #evolution #paleobionics

science-and-technology2 years ago•2 min saved

Ancient Marine Organism Resurrected as Soft Robot

Researchers have recreated a 450-million-year-old extinct marine organism, known as a pleurocystid, as a soft robotic replica. The robot, made from a combination of 3D-printed elements and polymers, mimics the flexible nature of the creature's tail-like muscular stem. By studying the robot's movements, researchers hope to gain insights into how extinct organisms moved and how this contributed to the evolution of animals. This breakthrough in paleobionics opens up possibilities for replicating more extinct creatures and understanding the biomechanical factors that drove evolution.

via IFLScience|

#echinoderms #evolution #marine-organism

science-and-technology2 years ago•2 min saved

"Robotic Resurrection: Prehistoric Creature Brought Back to Life"

Scientists have created a soft robot replica of the ancient echinoderm pleurocystitid to study its efficient movement across the ocean floor over 450 million years ago. By analyzing the creature's fossils, researchers discovered that its sweeping tail motion allowed it to move with power and efficiency. This development in paleobionics, the field of robotics inspired by extinct species, could lead to practical applications in modern robotics and exploration of hard-to-navigate environments like the deep-sea floor. The pleurocystitid robot could push the fields of soft robotics, biology, and paleontology to the next level with its research.

via Giant Freakin Robot|

#ocean-floor #paleobionics #prehistoric-creatures

science-and-technology2 years ago•3 min saved

Ancient marine organism revived as a soft-bodied robot

Researchers have created a soft robotic replica of pleurocystitids, a marine organism that lived 450 million years ago, using fossil evidence. This new field of study, called paleobionics, aims to understand the biomechanical factors that drove evolution by using soft robotics. The team used computational simulations and 3D printed elements to mimic the flexible structure of the organism's appendage. They discovered that pleurocystitids likely moved by sweeping motions and that increasing the length of their stem increased their speed without requiring more energy. This breakthrough opens up possibilities for studying extinct organisms and learning more about the history of life on Earth.

via Futurity: Research News|

#echinoderms #evolution #fossil-evidence