A team of engineers in Germany has produced a bionic kangaroo, capable of jumping and then recovering its balance.

It is also able to recover energy when jumping, storing it for use in its next jump.

The team at Festo has made it not as a product for market, but as a tool to show aspiring young engineers the power of Biomimetics.

This is the field of science which looks at designs in the natural world, and then tries to copy them for the benefit of humans.

Dougal Shaw reports.

Footage courtesy of Festo