The pangolin's ability to curl up their scale-covered bodies in a flash was the inspiration behind the robots, designed by the Physical Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart.
Pangolins are the only species of mammal completely covered with hard scales made of keratin. The scales overlap and are directly connected to the underlying soft skin layer, allowing the animals to curl up into a ball in case of danger.
Inspired by this skill, the researchers developed a flexible robot made of soft and hard components that can become a sphere in the blink of an eye, with the additional feature that the robot can emit heat when needed, for use in future medical procedures.
Pangolin-inspired robots / Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems Tübingen
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