A group of scientists is developing a robot that mimics the movements of ancient creatures in a bid to recreate a key moment in the evolution of aquatic animals when they emerged from the sea, according to a researcher. report in science robotics.
A team of scientists from the University of Cambridge, including roboticists, paleontologists and biologists, performed a feat of intelligent time travel to build this device. We are looking back at animal fossils from about 390 million years ago to investigate how modern animals with similar shapes move. In doing so, they are driving a future of mobile and mechanical robotics that combines past and present.
Robotics and paleontology
Combining paleontology with both computer modeling and robotics allows scientists to recreate how ancient species lived.
“We have a rich history of building biologically derived robots that help researchers understand living species today, but using robots to study extinct species is even more important. Because we can’t observe or measure how these animals migrated. Michael Ishidaauthor and member of the Cambridge team. “Roboticists can test the effects of millions of years of evolution in a day.”
However, there are several steps, many of which must be repeated back and forth in time. In its early stages, the group discovered how the bones of extinct animals were arranged in relation to each other, how muscles connected them, and how different joints worked together. We turned to paleontologists to find out.
Next, they looked at how the living creatures closest to the target creature moved. In this case, it is a fish that “walks” on the ocean floor.
“Using computer vision technology, we can take videos of fish and convert their anatomy and movements into mathematical representations,” says Ishida.
Building a robot to observe ancient creatures
Consider your prerequisites before you start building. “It is impossible to accurately reproduce every characteristic of an animal. Replacing muscles with motors means that certain aspects of the design are impractical,” says Ishida.
They then begin building the most barebones robotic versions of extinct creatures they can. “We want to start as simple as possible to figure out all the problems we need to solve. ” says Ishida.
Also, the simpler the model, the more species it can generally be applied to. For example, the group modeled the legs as a combination of rods, springs, and dampers.
Finally, you can use the robot to ask experimental questions. “We would like to learn more about the evolution of land walking in ancient fish, especially for fish that walked in the sea,” says Ishida. “What evolutionary pressures led these fully aquatic animals to develop an anatomy that allows them to walk on land? It may also help us understand what drove ancient fish to walk underwater.”
read more: Researchers discover how legged fish use their feet to find food
play with evolution
By building and observing these mechanical creatures, we can make tweaks in minutes that could take thousands of years to evolve. For example, changing the shape of a fin can also be done by adding a few lines of code in a computer simulation to another 3D printed shape on the robot.
You can also get a glimpse of the future by recreating the movements of ancient animals.
“Not only can we learn about the evolutionary history that gave rise to today’s species, but we can also use the general principles of evolution to guide future generations under new evolutionary pressures, such as climate change and human interaction. “You can hypothesize about species,” he says. Mr. Ishida.
read more: When the environment changes faster than the species
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Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul spent more than 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life sciences policy and global scientist career issues. He started his career in newspapers but switched to scientific magazines. His research has appeared in publications such as Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.
