Tech | September 17, 2009 | 1 comment

Acrobatic Octopus Arm Could Be Model for Flexible Robots

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One small step for technology, one giant flex for robotics.

Though coordinating eight separate arms might seem a tricky task for an octopus brain, what’s really demanding is controlling the arms’ flexible, infinitely variable movements. Now researchers have figured out part of their secret.


Unlike us, specific regions of an octopus’ motor cortex don’t correspond to specific parts of its body. Instead, each region controls different parts at different times. Their motor neural network seems as flexible as their bodies — a phenomenon that expands the range of neurophysiological possibility, and could refine the design of arm-flexing robots.


Read the full article for more detail on the newest in this breakthrough
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