Squirrels seem to jump, land, maneuver and adjust to their environment in milliseconds, perch and adjust mid-flight in what appears like a bit of a wondrous accomplishment to the observing human eye. How do they move so quickly and know exactly where to jump, how high and far to jump and how to land in an optimal way. We marvel at their dexterity and sheer responsiveness.
Army Scientists have taken notice of this ability and embarked upon ambitious research to help determine and study the natural biological mechanisms that make squirrel agility possible, for the specific reason of helping to engineer more “creative intelligence” within robots.
Squirrels & Army Robots
“Squirrels need to be adaptable, associated with how stiff, long or flexible their launch might be, or how uncertain a landing position might be. The suddenness or quickness of their landing, perching and grasping is remarkable. Studying this might help explain how we can give robots some versatility in decision-making,” Dean Culver, Army Research Office program manager, told The National Interest in an interview about the research.
When it comes to creative or certain kinds of varied and nuanced decision making, squirrels possess attributes which far out-perform humans and may offer valuable insights when it comes to engineering robots to better “adapt” creativity to their surroundings.
The most advanced robots, Culver explained, cannot make these kinds of immediate adjustments to their surroundings. “If we want them (robots) to perform a task, we have to tell them all the steps and how to do it. They can’t accommodate variability,” he told me.
