News From the Field
Leaping Lizards' Message to Robots: Get a Tail!

January 4, 2012

Berkeley scientists who studied how lizards manage to leap successfully, even when they slip and stumble, found that lizards swing their tails upward to prevent them from pitching head-over-heels into a rock. But after the team added a tail to a robotic car named Tailbot, they discovered that counteracting the effect of a slip is not as simple as throwing your tail in the air. Instead, robots and lizards must actively adjust the angle of their tails just right to remain upright. Full Story

Source
University of California, Berkeley

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