Does the Octopus Hold the Key To Robot Design?

balancedi writes "Simultaneously controling 8 jointless arms without getting them all tangled up is a neat trick that octopuses do with ease. According to a National Geographic article several researchers from around the world think understanding the octopus holds to key to the optimal robot design."

Real question

[savagedome]

Does the Octopus Hold the Key To Robot Design

Even deeper question is, in which arm?

I'm no ichthyologist

[Dancin_Santa]

But I'm more inclined to think that these guys [tolweb.org] probably have a lot more interesting robotics applications than octopusii do.

Unless they think that making robots taste delicious is the secret to robot movement. Mmm... octopod

Of course, this is old news... to Spiderman 2 fans

[BenJeremy]

Doc Oc has known this for decades. ...in other news, Robotics Scientists often fall asleep during Spiderman movies and have epiphanies in the mornings following.

My prediction: Slashdot article in the near future about the possibility of armored soldiers riding anti-gravity sleds pumped up with performance-enhancing drugs.

And Now...

[Avyakata]

Perhaps they can figure out a way to replicate other octopus-like behavior, too. Like, say, squeezing into a bottle half it's size. I mean, that'd be great for all kinds of thing, consider what...

oh, wait...nevermind...

Next In the News

[ackthpt]

She had opened the top of her tank, navigated across the table to the goldfish tank, helped herself to every last goldfish in the goldfish tank and then crawled back home, closing the top of her tank! All I could do was stare in dumbfounded amazement.

Next in the news:

IT Jobs Outsourced to Octopii

She also exhibited curiosity with new objects placed into her tank, exploring them extensively,

Typical geek behaviour. Good thing I'm already used to eating seaweed...

Octopus? Are they serious?

[Xaroth]

The octopus as an optimal robot design? Did none of them see The Matrix?! [google.com]

Somebody warn them before it's too late!

Re:suckers

[PoopJuggler]

Better, more efficient Shakespeare. 1 million octopi typing on 1 million keyboards would produce the works of Shakespeare 4 times faster than those damn dirty monkeys.

Political Correctness gone too far

[michaelmalak]

From the linked article:

Indeed, with their bizarre (at least to humans) looks...

Re: Does the Octopus Hold the Key To Robot Design?

[lightspawn]

It holds, like, 8 of them.

Octopus Holds the Key to Robot Design?

[spud603]

Great!
Now whack it over the head and take it from him. We've been looking for that.
Damn octopi...

All I can say is...

[worst_name_ever]

Does the octopus hold the key to robot design? I think the more important question is: Does the octopus hold the key to totally awesome robot design?

Obligatory "Mystery Men" Quote

[Anonymous Coward]

Sphinx : "You must lash out with every limb, like the octopus who plays the drums."

Mystery Men [wikiquote.org]

Re:True Story:

[Leroy_Brown242]

Some times I drive it around town. I get pulled over a lot, but I think it's worth not having to worry about traffic.

DOC OC!

[EvilAlien]

The fools!

If they go down this path, it is obvious that Marvel Comics' world domination plans will be complete! They will simply use intellectual property lawsuits [wired.com] based on the Doctor Octopus character... oh Stan Lee, what evil hast thou wrought?

Re:So, make slimy and slippery robots. Got it.

[SLot]

(1) smooth, (2) pliable, (3) slippery, (4) oiled/lubricated, (5) immersed in a fluid.

That sounds a lot like the perfect date.

The Tentacle

[skeptictank]

"If you had something--a person, say--floating in a water column or in space, a straight mechanical arm is likely to push it away," said Thomas McKenna, a project officer at the ONR. "But an arm you could use to gently wrap around an object and retrieve it, that would be useful." Also, they are real popular with doe-eyed, psuedo-asian, female superheros.

Octopus

[sameerdesai]

I don't want a Robot spraying me with Ink!!! Or Did I miss the point of the story ;-)

Re:Each creature has several 'brains'

[Anonymous Coward]

I think its safe to say most men have two brains which are constantly in disaggreement. Lower brain always raises issues at the wrong time.

Mixed messages

[saddino]

After reading this startling bit from the article:

Octopuses have intrigued scientists for years, because they have both long- and short-term memory, they remember solutions to problems, and they can go on to solve the same or similar problems. They have been known to climb aboard fishing boats and open holds in search of crabs. They can figure out mazes, open jars, and break out of their aquariums in search of food.

It was a bit disheartening to see this "sponsored link" at the bottom of the article:

A Seafood Delicacy: Order Octopus
Gorton's Fresh Seafood delivers octopus - fully cleaned and freshly prepared. Delicious and mild in flavor - great boiled, stewed or grilled. Special packaging ensures freshness.

Ah, the potential irony of keyword triggered ads!

Re:Each creature has several 'brains'

[gardyloo]

Yeah, but does ATI release linux drivers for those tentacles? Nooooooooo.

Re:True Story:

[Anonymous Coward]

Just drop a Rubik's cube in there with it. That should keep it entertained.

Re:True Story:

[sponga]

My pet rock last forever and never seems to stray away.

Re:True Story:

[Tackhead]

> Squeeze through a three inch hole?? No, that's not "squeezing" at all. I scuba dive locally in So. California a few days a week. If I see a bottle (beer, wine, vodka,.) I always look inside. Many times I'll find an octopus filing as much as 1/3 of the bottle. They have no trouble fitting through the neck of a beer bottle

Proving not only that octopi are clever problem-solvers, but that they can remain clever problem solvers despite drinking like fish?

Re:Here's a thought...

[bigpat]

"Are you telling me that an animal has to be very intelligent to not tangle its arms? Are you kidding me? It sounds like instinct or common sense, to me.."

That is probably what the octopus was thinking.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:True Story:

[spectre_240sx]

Just let us know when it starts looking back at you.

Re:True Story:

[XMyth]

Are you sure it's not dead?

Pet an octopus

[null etc.]

What's it like holding hands with an octopus?

"It can be intimidating at first, because they wrap their arms pretty tight around you, and everything they latch onto is pretty much headed straight to their mouth"..."But once you get used to it, I can't describe it: They feel like wet velvet or wet silk."

Sounds pretty obscene without the first sentence, doesn't it?

Yes, Indeed.

[Spy der Mann]

When we realized that humans looked back whenever we looked at them, we realized that there IS intelligent life outside the sea. (Some) humans have earned my respect.

OH darn, I'm drying up. I better go back to my tank.

*plop*

Re:Key to robot design: has to be alive.

[dpierkowski]

The octopus just has to think to itself, "don't tie my arms in a knot", like each of us does every day, and voila, no arm knots.

I forgot to think that one day. Worst day I've ever had.

A tentacled robot....

[inteller]

....also makes for good japanese anime tentacle sex.

Re:True Story:

[Hognoxious]

Better yet, drop four of them in.