Tech: Shrewbot

The Etruscan shrew, one of the world’s tiniest mammals, measuring around 4 centimetres long, is the inspiration for a ground-breaking new robot developed to use sophisticated whiskers to find its way around.

The Etruscan shrew is nocturnal, relying on its whiskers to find, track and capture its prey – often the same size as itself. The efficiency of this tiny creature has inspired scientists to look at ways of replicating the shrew’s whiskers to enable robots to find their way around without the use of vision.

Source: Biotact