While most people might think of humanoid robots or androids when hearing the term robot, scientists have been inspired by a wide variety of animal forms when designing robots. Such animal-inspired robots could be useful in exploration, surgery, and infrastructure inspection.

Researchers all over the world have looked at insects, fish, reptiles, and mammals other than humans because their anatomy has evolved over millions of years for maximum efficiency in locomotion, manipulation, or perception.

In this excerpt from driven: The maxon motor magazine, sponsored by maxon motor ag, we look at five examples of how animal-inspired designs can lead to useful automation.