阅读理解Bio-robots are robots that look like animals. They can fly like birds, swim like fish or move like insects. They are helping researchers learn more about how animals live.
● Bat (蝙蝠) robot
Bat flight is not simple. Its body parts fold and unfold with every wing beat. The force comes from its strong but thin wings. If you want to make a flying robot, said Science Focus, don't copy bats.
But that's what researchers did in the US. B2 is a robot made to understand bat flight. It has very thin wings. Can it fly like a bat? Yes! B2 moves its wings and does sharp dives and turns, just like a real bat!
They hope to make even better robot bats in the future.
● Guppy (孔雀鱼) robot
Some people think fish are stupid, but there are still many things we can learn about them.
German researchers now use a robotic fish to better understand group behavior in guppies. The team put a 3D-printed guppy under the fish tank. It copied the speed and direction of a fish partner, who thought the printed guppy was real.
Researchers learned that swimming speed is important to guppies. When they swim faster, they swim better together.
● Cockroach (蟑螂) robot
It has four legs instead of six, but this 4.5-centimeter-long cockroach robot can walk and climb walls just like real cockroaches.
The 1.5-gram robot was made for Rolls-Royce. The engine-maker wants tiny robots to look around inside airplane engines (引擎) because humans can't go there. To meet their needs, engineers thought about cockroaches' sticky feet.
The robot uses electricity to stick to walls. Engineers tested it inside an airplane engine. It stuck on better than a real insect, according to Science Focus.