07. Biologically Inspired Approaches
Biologically Inspired Approaches to Robotics
by Beer et al.
**Abstract - ** When it comes to autonomous robots, the contrast between fantasy and reality is really quite striking. On the one hand, we have the fantasy of such anthropomorphic robots as C3PO from Star Wars and Commander Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation which, despite their endearing quirks, negotiate complex physical and social environments with essentially the skill of a human being. On the other hand, we have the reality of industrial robots that can efficiently carry out such highly specialized tasks as painting and welding only in environments carefully constrained to minimize complications. Or, to consider a second example, we have Dante II, the semi-autonomous robot that had to be lifted out of a volcano it was exploring with a crane when it overturned. Far from being a limitation unique to the Dante II project, which should be applauded for confronting such a difficult environment, this brittleness in the face of unanticipated contingency is in fact typical of the state of the art in autonomous robotics.