Jellyfish swim, birds fly as robots take off

A visitor photographs an electronic fish. (Photo/XINHUA)

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union provided a significant amount of funding for research into bionics, according to Paolo Dario, a professor at the University of Pisa Sant'Anna in Italy, and also director of the Biological Robotics Institute at the university.

The term bionics was created in 1958 by Jack E. Steele, a worker at the Aeronautics Division House at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, and refers to the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology.

Dario said, "However, as some problems arose, the money that had been invested was later cut back," adding that research into bionic robots came to a standstill.

But scientific research in this field led to the idea that robots could not only be used for specific practical applications, but also be prepared for future research purposes, Dario said.

"For bionic robots, we need to simplify some existing processes and gain more experience from the natural environment," he said. "Inspiration from the biological world is important in producing robots."