Ostrich-inspired robot gives its neck a stretch

Birds are able to do a lot thanks to their highly flexible necks, whether it be turning their heads around to groom their backs, looking in many different directions during flight, or accessing hard to reach nooks and crannies along the ground or in trees. Among all avian species, the ostrich stands out as one bird with a particularly sturdy and dexterous neck – qualities that are also appealing for robotic manipulators.

Using an accurate blueprint of the muscles and tendons in an ostrich’s neck, researchers in Japan have created a novel robotic manipulator called RobOstrich. They…