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	Podcast:		UC Science Today
	Episode:		Roboticists take another cue from nature
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		00:01:02
	Publish Date:		2017-01-02 18:00:00
	Description:		Sometimes the best ideas are found in nature. At the University of California, Berkeley, researchers at the Biomimetic Millisystems Laboratory have long looked to insects and animals for inspiration in their robotic designs; from cockroaches to lizards. Now, roboticist Duncan Haldane says their latest creation called Salto took a cue from nature and it can jump higher and faster than any other robot out there. "Salto is inspired by a galago, which is bushbaby. Biologists have found animals adapted specifically for jumping had this kind of super crouch posture. The longer they stay in a crouch, the more energy they can transfer into the tendons and the more energy they can return for jumping." Now that Salto is jumping as well as these small primates, they’re looking to humans to explore different behaviors. "The closest model for what we’re trying to do is human parkour. You have these people that excel at running over buildings, bouncing off of all these crazy obstacles like a wall as a feature to help yourself move."
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