Todays robot engineers are designing and building animal inspired robots. Real-life zoobots are built to solve particular problems and do specific jobs. They can do things humans cant.

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Shrewbot. Scientists wanted a robot for search & rescue to find people who had been trapped by an earthquake or explosion. It needed to be able to move in dark, dusty, smoke-filled places. Pygmy shrews crawl through small burrows, and hunt after dark. Their whiskers sweep back & forth very fast to sense vibration to tell where somethings moving. A shrewbot moves its robot snout back and forth in the same way.

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Snake-bot. Robot scientists observed how snakes move. Snakes are tubes of strong muscles, and by tightening and relaxing their muscles, they can go almost anywhere. They slither, move sideways, twist, loop, roll and climb. They can wrap themselves tightly around things and squeeze. Scientists are using this idea to make spy robots that can sneak into places by climbing through pipes or ducts, then taking pictures.

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Starfish / Cuttlefish Bot. Like a starfish, these bots can walk across rough or sticky terrain, or cling tight to a rock as waves sweep over it. Like a cuttlefish, they can change color by tightening or relaxing tubes that contain different colors of liquids. These robots can camouflage to sneak in somewhere, or they can shine bright to help you find something.

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Octobot These silicone arms are filled with metal and nylon cables that can wrap around things, and tighten on them like an octopus tentacles do. They could be used to explore shipwrecks underwater.

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Pill Bug Bot Scientists wanted to develop a robot that could fight forest fires. It needed armor to protect itself from heat, and it needed to have lots of flexible legs so it could move across rough ground. They used a roley-poley bug as the inspiration for the exoskeleton armor and its legs, and it carries a tank of water or fire extinguishing chemicals to spray at a fire.

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Gecko Bot Geckos that live in tropical areas have special toe pads that help their feet stick to any surface. Roboticists are designing similar feet to allow robots to climb on smooth surfaces humans cant climb, like a glass skyscraper, or reach difficult areas like mine shafts.

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Fish Bot Some fish, like this black ghost knifefish, move using a single, rippling fin on their belly. Scientists are using this idea on submarine robots that can study coral reefs or monitor ocean pollution.

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Nanobots bacteria are tiny, single celled organisms we have 40 trillion inside our bodies. Bacteria have little tails that whip around to help them swim. Roboticists are designing nanobots which could be injected in the human body to deliver medicine to exactly where its needed.

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Bat-bot. Bats wings are made of thin, flexible bones, covered with skin. Scientists are attempting to design wings from metal frames, and a stretchy fabric membrane. These bots would also navigate using echolocation like bats do theyd make clicking or pinging sounds, then listen for the echo to figure out where things are. These could be used like miniature spy planes.

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Cockroach bots A swarm of these small, fast-moving bots would be sent to a location where as a group, theyd explore, communicate with radio signals (real cockroaches use chemical signals called pheromones), and adjust their programming to problem solve what to do.

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Jellyfish bots Jellyfish move in a unique way, contracting and relaxing their tentacles, and shifting their bodies. They can move in virtually any direction. Engineers are designing underwater vehicles that move in this way.

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Human Bot or Android. Were a long way away from creating a fully functional android like you might see in a movie. But scientists are working on it. These bots could be used in places that were unsafe for humans to go. For example, they could be robot nurses who would care for patients with contagious diseases to protect the human nurses from catching those diseases.

-------------- -----------------What other kinds of zoobots can you imagine? Dragonfly drones? Kraken bots? Whale bots that can filter things out of the ocean water? Scientists will continue to be inspired by nature and find new inventions to do the work we cant do or dont want to do.