Following in the tracks of turtles Jason Edwards/Getty

In preparation for becoming humanity’s overlords, robots have started controlling turtles. By first getting the reptiles to associate a red light with food, the shell-attached robots can dictate where the turtle moves around a tank, creating a rather unusual parasitic relationship.

Even with the huge progress made in recent years, robots still have some serious limitations. Making their motion robust enough to survive the rigours of daily life is an ongoing battle, as is the puzzle of providing them with enough energy to avoid spending hours recharging.

Nature, on the other hand, can do this easily. Millions of years of evolution have given rise to an incredible variety of efficient ways for animals to move, so researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon set about harnessing this factor.


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Robots were first glued to the backs of five red-eared slider turtles. The robots comprised a processor, a frame that stuck out in front of the turtle’s head holding five red LEDs spaced apart, and a food-ejecting tube. They then had to ride their turtle through five checkpoints in a tank filled with water.

The turtles were first conditioned to associate a lit-up LED with food. The robot then simply guided it using the LEDs and fed it snacks as a reward for going in the right direction. Using this process, five robot-turtle pairs successfully completed the course, and each sped up with practice.

Looking ahead

There are plenty of other animals that could also later be used to give robots a ride, says Dae-Gun Kim at KAIST. “It will be possible to apply it to various animals such as fish and birds according to task purpose,” he says.

In the future, Kim and his colleagues also want to be able to harness some of the animal host’s motion to provide the robot with power.

“These robots could be used for surveillance, exploration, or anywhere where it’s difficult for humans or robots to reach on their own,” says Nathan Lepora at the University of Bristol, UK.

Previously, insects have been controlled using electrodes and radio antennas connected to their nervous systems. This same approach could present ways for parasitic robots to directly control their hosts.

“There are definitely ethical considerations, but if robots and animals were able to team up to explore a disaster area, it could be really useful,” says Lepora.

Journal reference: Journal of Bionic Engineering, DOI: 10.1016/S1672-6529(16)60401-8