Bio-inspired robotics: state of art

The bio-inspired scientific approach has been gaining momentum in France in recent years, catching up with other European countries such as Germany, Switzerland and the UK. However, the specific field of robotics emerged in France as early as 1990, with the first international conference on "Simulation of adaptive behavior: from animals to animats", organized in Paris and attended by ethologists, philosophers, mathematicians, computer scientists and roboticists. What has since become known as the "animat approach" (a contraction of the terms "animal" and "artificial") aims to design simulated artificial systems or real robots inspired by animals, capable of autonomously displaying adaptive capabilities in a complex, dynamic and unpredictable environment .

The first section of this article focuses on various robot components inspired by living systems, including morphology, sensors and actuators. The next two sections describe achievements in the two, sometimes complementary, objectives pursued by this approach. The first is applied research, investigating knowledge of the natural world in order to achieve significant practical improvements in functionality and energy savings. Examples of – bio-inspired robots from flexible, nano- micro, hybrid, swarm and humanoid robotics – illustrate these new trends in robotics. The second objective involves fundamental research, using robots to test or generate new hypotheses about biological systems. This "robotic approach", so named in 1943 by psychologist Clark Hull, advocates the use of machines as a "form of prophylaxis against subjectivist anthropomorphism". In each of these sections, achievements from the plant kingdom – a new paradigm for bio-inspired robotics – are also discussed. A fourth section mentions some of the limitations inherent in this approach, particularly when it pursues objectives that are not respectful of living systems. The difficulty of imitating these systems, whether in their structures, functions or constitutions – both sustainable and recyclable – is also commented on. The conclusion looks at the prospects offered by bio-inspired robots.