Pingie: HTTP:: Octopus Arms to Inspire Next Generation of Robots

HTTP:: Octopus Arms to Inspire Next Generation of Robots
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While an octopus is not generally regarded as being the most clever animal on the planet, its brain is looked at with respect by scientists. One simple reason for this is the fact that it can control eight limbs flawlessly, in very much the same way we control four. This trait that octopuses have is of great aid to researchers seeking to construct the next generation of highly flexible robots, which could have a lot to learn from how the animal performs its daily routines, Wired reports. The main difference that separates the human and the octopus brain resides in how body-part control is alloted in the motor cortex. While we have separate regions controlling the arms and legs, the octopus has several areas of the brain that control different limbs at different times. The motor cortex is therefore just as flexible, if not even more, than the rest of the body. The most difficult thing for the animals to do is not to control their eight limbs at once, but to ensure that the!
correct one of the never-ending movement possibilities is selected at all times, researchers say. “We think, because of the complexity of the octopus body and its variability, that it has another way of organizing its control system. That’s what we find in this study. It’s suited to a structure with many more degr...
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http://news.softpedia.com/news/Octopus-Arms-to-Inspire-Next-Generation-of-Robots-122052.shtml
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