Researchers in Japan have designed a robotic TAIL to improve balance and agility

Researchers from Keio University in Japan have created a prototype for a mechanical tail that they say -- not unlike a real, biological tail -- provides the wearer more agility and balance. The tail, dubbed The Arque tail, was presented at conference in Los Angeles last week that brings together emerging technologies in gaming and graphics, Fast Company reports. Arque can augment a wearer's agility by acting as a a counterbalance that shifts weight While a human with a tail may evoke our primate ancestry, researchers say that their version -- a swiveling worm-like device strapped around a user's waist -- is inspired by the Seahorse. Seahorse tails, notes Fast Company, are strong enough to endure attacks from predators but still flexible enough to be used a type of hand that can grip coral and other environmental objects. For proof of a tail's efficacy in helping to gracefully navigate narrow or tenuous landscapes, one might look to the acumen of more domestic animals, like cats.