ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Robert Full - Biologist
Robert Full studies cockroach legs and gecko feet. His research is helping build tomorrow's robots, based on evolution's ancient engineering.

Why you should listen

UC Berkeley biologist Robert Full is fascinated by the motion of creatures like cockroaches, crabs and geckos having many legs, unusual feet or talented tails. He has led an effort to demonstrate the value of learning from Nature by the creating interdisciplinary collaborations of biologists, engineers, mathematicians and computer scientists from academia and industry. He founded CiBER, the Center for interdisciplinary Bio-inspiration in Education and Research, and the Poly-PEDAL Laboratory, which studies the Performance, Energetics and Dynamics of Animal Locomotion (PEDAL) in many-footed creatures (Poly).

His research shows how studying a diversity of animals leads to the discovery of general principles which inspire the design of novel circuits, artificial muscles, exoskeletons, versatile scampering legged search-and-rescue robots and synthetic self-cleaning dry adhesives based on gecko feet. He is passionate about discovery-based education leading to innovation -- and he even helped Pixar’s insect animations in the film A Bug's Life.

More profile about the speaker
Robert Full | Speaker | TED.com
TED2014

Robert Full: The secrets of nature's grossest creatures, channeled into robots

Robert Full: 自然最令人厭惡的生物的秘訣:導入到機器人技術開發

Filmed:
1,286,255 views

機器人如何學習穩定地在高低不平的地形上,上下顛倒走動,在空中做體操動作,跑向墻而不傷害到自己呢?Robert Full 通過展示蟑螂的不可思議的身體來講述牠為機器人技術工程師帶來的啓發。
- Biologist
Robert Full studies cockroach legs and gecko feet. His research is helping build tomorrow's robots, based on evolution's ancient engineering. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

即使自然界的最令人厭惡的生物
00:12
Even nature's大自然 most disgusting討厭 creatures生物
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have important重要 secrets秘密,
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也擁有重要的秘密。
00:18
but who would want a swarm一群 of cockroaches蟑螂
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但是誰會想要一群向牠們
00:19
coming未來 towards them?
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走來的蟑螂呢?
00:21
Yet然而 one of the greatest最大 differences分歧
between之間 natural自然 and human人的 technologies技術
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而自然和人類科技的一最大不同點
00:24
relates涉及 to robustness穩健性.
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在於其穩健性。
00:26
Robust強大的 systems系統 are stable穩定 in complex複雜
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穩健的系統於複雜或是新環境中,
00:29
and new environments環境.
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都能穩定地運作。
00:31
Remarkably異常, cockroaches蟑螂 can self-stabilize自穩定
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令人矚目的是,蟑螂能夠自我穩定地
00:32
running賽跑 over rough terrain地形.
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越過高低不平的地形。
00:34
When we put a jet噴射 pack on them,
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當我們在牠們上面放噴射背包,
00:35
or give them a perturbation like an earthquake地震,
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或者以類似地震的事件擾亂牠時,
00:37
we discovered發現 that their wonderfully奇妙 tuned調整 legs
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我們發現,牠們極為調諧的腿
00:40
allow允許 them to self-stabilize自穩定
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可讓牠們自行穩定地行動,
00:42
without using運用 any of their brainpower腦力.
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而絲毫不費任何腦力。
00:45
They can go over complex複雜 terrain地形 like grass,
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牠們能夠通過複雜地形,比如草地,
00:49
no problem問題, and not get destabilized不穩定.
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而不會變得不穩定。
00:51
We discovered發現 a new behavior行為 where,
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我們發現了一種新的行為,
00:52
because of their shape形狀,
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由於牠們的體型,
00:53
they actually其實 roll automatically自動 to their side
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牠們可自動地滚到身體另一側,
00:55
to go through通過 this artificial人造 test測試 bit of grass.
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來通過實驗中的人工草。
00:59
Robust強大的 systems系統 can perform演出 multiple tasks任務
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穩健性系統能夠以這樣相同的結構,
01:02
with the same相同 structure結構體.
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來履行多種任務。
01:04
Here's這裡的 a new behavior行為 we've我們已經 discovered發現.
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這是我們發現的一種新的行為。
01:06
The animals動物 rapidly急速 invert倒置 and disappear消失
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這些動物們用來跑行的同樣的結構
01:08
in less than 150 milliseconds毫秒 — you never see them —
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在150毫秒迅速地翻轉和消失,
01:10
using運用 the same相同 structures結構 that
they use to run, their legs.
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一下子就無影無蹤--
牠們上下顛倒地、非常迅速地
01:12
They can run upside上邊 down
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01:14
very rapidly急速 on rods, branches分支機構 and wires電線,
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在棍子,樹枝和電線上跑過,
01:17
and if you perturb干擾 one of those branches分支機構,
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而如果你擾亂其中一個樹枝的話,
01:19
they can do this.
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牠們(依然)能夠如此越過。
01:20
They can perform演出 gymnastic體操 maneuvers演習
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牠們能夠履行的體操動作
01:22
like no robot機器人 we have yet然而.
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是我們至今現有機器人所無法實現的
01:24
And they have nearly幾乎 unlimited無限
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牠們以一同種結構,
01:26
maneuverability機動性 with that same相同 structure結構體
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擁有近乎無限的機動性,
01:29
and unprecedented史無前例 access訪問 to a variety品種
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能夠史無前例地進入
01:33
of different不同 areas.
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多樣地不同的區域。
01:37
They have wings翅膀 for flying飛行 when they get warm,
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當牠們熱身後,牠們可用翅膀飛行,
01:40
but they use those same相同 wings翅膀 to flip翻動 over
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如果牠們遭到不穩定(的干擾),
01:42
if they get destabilized不穩定.
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而牠們也用同樣的翅膀,
來非常有效地翻滾過來。
01:46
Very effective有效.
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01:47
Robust強大的 systems系統 are also fault故障 tolerant寬容 and fail-safe故障安全.
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穩健系統也有故障容錯和自我防故障機制。
01:51
This is the foot腳丫子 of a cockroach蟑螂.
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這是一隻蟑螂的腳掌。
01:52
It has spines, gluey pads and claws,
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牠有脊柱,胶垫和爪子
01:55
but if you take off those feet,
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但是如果你拿掉牠的腳掌,
01:57
they can still go over rough terrain地形,
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牠們仍然能夠越過高低不平的地形,
01:58
like the bottom底部 video視頻 that you see,
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就像在下面錄像裡,你看到的一樣。
02:00
without hardly幾乎不 slowing減緩 down. Extraordinary非凡.
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絲毫不減速地(越過)。非同凡響。
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They can run up mesh網孔 without their feet.
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牠們沒有腳掌仍可越上鐵絲網。
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Here's這裡的 an animal動物 using運用 a normal正常, alternating交替 tripod:
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這個動物使用正常的、替換性三軸架結構。
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three legs, three legs, three legs,
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三只腿,三只腿,三只腿
02:11
but in nature性質, the insects昆蟲 often經常 have lost丟失 their legs.
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但在自然中,這些昆蟲常失去牠們的腿。
02:14
Here's這裡的 one moving移動 with two middle中間 legs gone走了.
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這一隻正移動的昆蟲,牠没中間2條腿。
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It can even lose失去 three legs, in a tripod,
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牠甚至失去三條腿,一個三軸架結構中,
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and adopt採用 a new gait步態, a hopping躍遷 gait步態.
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牠用一種新步法,一種跳躍式的步法。
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And I point out that all of these videos視頻
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需要說明的是,所有這些影片
02:27
are slowed放緩 down 20 times,
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都放慢20倍來播放
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so they're actually其實 really fast快速, when you see this.
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所以牠們實際上真的很快。
02:31
Robust強大的 systems系統 are also damage損傷 resistant.
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穩健性系統也有防破壞機制。
02:34
Here's這裡的 an animal動物 climbing攀登 up a wall.
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這一隻正在向上爬牆。
02:36
It looks容貌 like a rapid快速, smooth光滑, vertical垂直 climb,
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看上去是迅速平穩地垂直爬行,
02:39
but when you slow it down,
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但是當影像放慢的時候,
02:40
you see something very different不同.
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你會看到一些非常不同的事情。
02:42
Here's這裡的 what they do.
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牠們其實這麼做 :
02:44
They intentionally故意地 have a
head-on腦袋上 collision碰撞 with the wall
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牠們故意地讓頭衝撞這面牆,
02:47
so they don't slow down and can transition過渡 up it
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所以牠們不用減速,能在75毫秒
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in 75 milliseconds毫秒.
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轉變向上爬。
02:52
And they can do this in part部分 because they have
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牠們能這樣做,部份原因是,
02:53
extraordinary非凡 exoskeletons外骨骼.
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牠們有特別的外骨骼。
02:55
And they're really just made製作 up of compliant兼容 joints關節
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牠們由兼容的關節組成
而這些關節就由管子和墊子
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that are tubes and plates
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connected連接的 to one another另一個.
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互相連接在一起。
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Here's這裡的 a dissection解剖 of an abdomen腹部 of a cockroach蟑螂.
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這是一隻蟑螂的腹部的解剖面。
03:05
You see these plates, and you
see the compliant兼容 membrane.
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你能看到這些墊子,這些兼容的隔膜。
03:09
My engineering工程 colleague同事 at Berkeley伯克利
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我在柏克萊的工程設計同事
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designed設計 with his students學生們
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和他的學生們設計出了
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a novel小說 manufacturing製造業 technique技術
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一種新穎的製造技術。
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where you essentially實質上 origami摺紙 the exoskeleton外骨骼,
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像折紙一樣打開外骨骼,
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you laser激光 cut it, laminate層壓 it,
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將之雷射切割,分成薄片,
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and you fold it up into a robot機器人.
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然後折疊成一個機器人。
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And you can do that now in less than 15 minutes分鐘.
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現在能在15分鐘內完成。
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These robots機器人, called DASH短跑,
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這些機械人,叫做DASH,
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for Dynamic動態 Autonomous自主性 Sprawled攤開 Hexapod昆蟲,
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動態自發爬行昆蟲,
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are highly高度 compliant兼容 robots機器人,
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是有高度兼容的機器人,
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and they're remarkably異常 robust強大的 as a result結果
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它們具有令人矚目的
03:39
of these features特徵.
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穩定性。
03:41
They're certainly當然 incredibly令人難以置信 damage損傷 resistant.
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它們有非凡地抗破壞性。
03:47
(Laughter笑聲)
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(觀眾在笑)
03:51
They even have some of the
behaviors行為 of the cockroaches蟑螂.
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它們甚至擁有蟑螂的一些行為特徵。
03:53
So they can use their smart聰明, compliant兼容 body身體
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所以它們能使用智慧兼容的身體
03:55
to transition過渡 up a wall
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以非常簡單方式,
03:58
in a very simple簡單 way.
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來轉變爬上一面牆
04:01
They even have some of the beginnings開始
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它們甚至有像蟑螂消失一般的
04:02
of the rapid快速 inversion逆溫 behavior行為
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迅速地倒置轉換行為
04:04
where they disappear消失.
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的一些開端。
我們想知到牠們爲什麽能去任何地方。
04:07
Now we want to know why they can go anywhere隨地.
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We discovered發現 that they can go through通過
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我們發現,牠們能夠越過
04:10
three-millimeter三毫米 gaps空白,
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三毫米的空隙,
04:11
the height高度 of two pennies便士, two stacked堆疊 pennies便士,
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兩個堆起來的便士(硬幣)的高度,
04:14
and when they do this,
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they can actually其實 run through通過 those confined受限 spaces空間
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而當牠們做這件事情時,
牠們能夠高速地
04:17
at high speeds速度,
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跑過這些密閉的空間,
04:19
although雖然 you never see it.
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你只是從來沒看見牠。
04:22
To understand理解 it better,
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爲了更理解牠,
04:23
we did a CTCT scan掃描 of the exoskeleton外骨骼
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我們以電腦斷層掃描外骨骼
04:25
and showed顯示 that they can compress壓縮 their body身體
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其顯示,牠們能夠壓縮身體超過40%。
04:27
by over 40 percent百分.
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04:30
We put them in a materials物料 testing測試 machine
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我們牠們放在一個材料檢驗設備中,
04:31
to look at the stress強調 strain應變 analysis分析
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來作應力應變分析,
04:33
and showed顯示 that they can withstand經受 forces軍隊
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發現牠們能夠承受八倍於
04:36
800 times their body身體 weight重量,
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牠們身體重量的力量,
04:37
and after this they can fly and run
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而壓力後夠正常地飛和跑。
04:39
absolutely絕對 normally一般.
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04:41
So you never know where
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所以你無法預料
04:43
curiosity-based好奇心為主 research研究 will lead,
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基於好奇的研究會導向哪裡,
04:46
and someday日後 you may可能 want a swarm一群
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(或許)某天你可能想要
04:48
of cockroach-inspired蟑螂啟發 robots機器人
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一群受蟑螂啓發研究的機器人
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to come at you.
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向你走來。
04:52
(Laughter笑聲)
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(觀眾的笑聲)
04:59
Thank you.
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謝謝大家。
05:01
(Applause掌聲)
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(觀眾鼓掌)。
Translated by Tiger Xie
Reviewed by Anny Chung

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Robert Full - Biologist
Robert Full studies cockroach legs and gecko feet. His research is helping build tomorrow's robots, based on evolution's ancient engineering.

Why you should listen

UC Berkeley biologist Robert Full is fascinated by the motion of creatures like cockroaches, crabs and geckos having many legs, unusual feet or talented tails. He has led an effort to demonstrate the value of learning from Nature by the creating interdisciplinary collaborations of biologists, engineers, mathematicians and computer scientists from academia and industry. He founded CiBER, the Center for interdisciplinary Bio-inspiration in Education and Research, and the Poly-PEDAL Laboratory, which studies the Performance, Energetics and Dynamics of Animal Locomotion (PEDAL) in many-footed creatures (Poly).

His research shows how studying a diversity of animals leads to the discovery of general principles which inspire the design of novel circuits, artificial muscles, exoskeletons, versatile scampering legged search-and-rescue robots and synthetic self-cleaning dry adhesives based on gecko feet. He is passionate about discovery-based education leading to innovation -- and he even helped Pixar’s insect animations in the film A Bug's Life.

More profile about the speaker
Robert Full | Speaker | TED.com