Watch This Salamander Robot Slither Like The Real Thing

The researchers designed Pleurobot with fewer bones and joints than the real-life creature. The robot features only 27 motors and 11 segments along its spine, while the amphibian has 40 vertebrae and multiple joints, some of which can even rotate freely and move side-to-side or up and down. In the design process, the researchers identified the minimum number of motorized segments required, as well as the optimal placement along the robot's body. As a result, it could replicate many of the salamander's types of movement. "Animal locomotion is an inherently complex process," says Kostas Karakasilliotis who designed the first versions of the Pleurobot.