Watch a weird robot wiggle and flap like a seal moving on land

But despite appearances, a robot that imitates the way they flop over dry land might be effective in search and rescue operations where a wheeled robot would struggle, say the team that made it. Dimuthu Kodippili Arachchige at DePaul University in Chicago and his colleagues created a robot that emulates the way pinnipeds – such as seals and sea lions – bounce and lunge on land, bobbing their heads and bodies to gain momentum while pushing along the ground with their flippers. The robot consists of four identical limbs, each 24 centimetres long and 4 centimetres in diameter. Each limb is made of three silicone tubes that can be filled with liquid to become rigid, or drained to become soft, all wrapped in a hard plastic skin. By selectively filling one or more tubes, the robot can steer each limb in any direction.