Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. A tiny robot fiddler crab is helping environmental scientists better understand the complexities of animal mating rituals and rivalries. And while their initial findings published August 5 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B are helping solve these ecological mysteries, the data was only obtained at considerable peril to'Wavy Dave.' Male fiddler crabs are engaged in a constant, literal arms race. The males are known for asymmetrically sized pincers, with a dramatically larger major claw compared to its smaller one. The reason for this sexual dimorphism is mainly twofold--mating and fighting. Female fiddlers generally opt for the male with the largest major claw, which the latter advertises by waving it at potential partners more quickly than his competitors.

There had been many previous attempts to develop cameras that mimic the eyes of insects, fish and other living creatures. However, development of artificial vision systems that can see both underwater and on land has apparently been pretty limited. Further, biomimetic cameras are usually restricted by their 180-degree field-of-view. Now, a team of scientists from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) and Seoul National University in Korea have developed a new artificial vision system with a 360-degree field-of-view that can work on amphibious machines. The team was inspired by the semi-terrestrial fiddler crab, which has a 3D omnidirectional field-of-view.

Turns out humans and crustaceans aren't so different after all, as new research has revealed that female crabs prefer mates who can'go the distance'. Fiddler crabs with the energy to keep upping the pace of their courtship displays are the most likely to attract a mate - though they still only last five minutes. Females pick males with an unrelenting dance because they have more stamina, meaning they are better fighters with bigger burrows, experts said. Scientists at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge made the discovery after introducing female fiddler crabs to specially designed waving robot claws. Scientists have found that female fiddler craps prefer mates with stamina.