The mad roboticists at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne have produced another biomimetic mechanoid — this one based on the lithe locomotion of the salamander. “Pleurobot” imitates the amphibian’s ambulation with its own articulated vertebrae, allowing it to slither along on land or at sea. “Animal locomotion is a very interesting interplay between the body, the spinal cord, and the environment,” explained the leader of the project, Auke Ijspeert, in a video from EPFL. “The novelty of this work is really the approach we took, to try to be as close as possible to the real physics of the body.” The team spent what one can only imagine was quite a long time watching X-ray videos of Pleurodeles waltl — also known as the Iberian ribbed newt, for reasons that are obvious to the informed reader.

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• Country: Switzerland 
• Company: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne