TRENDING SCIENCE: How are elephant trunks inspiring tomorrow’s robots?

The elephant trunk is a marvel of biology and evolution. This strong, versatile appendage contains about 40 000 muscles that support a broad range of tasks, from simple actions like breathing to more complex ones, such as socialising. For comparison, we have just over 600 muscles in total.

Scientists across Europe are hoping study of the movements of this dynamic organ will lead to advances in robotics – the intersection of science, engineering and technology. By using novel methods developed for none other than the film industry, the researchers analysed elephants’ trunks. In the findings published in the journal ‘Current Biology’, they argue that the trunk can serve as a model for robotics.“Classical robots are extremely good for performing a specific task for which they have been designed...If you want that robot to do something a little different, it will fail miserably,” corresponding author Michel Milinkovitch, professor at the University of Geneva’s Department of Genetics & Evolution, told ‘CNN’. “But when you look at living organisms, they have been optimized also for versatility.”

The research team placed reflective markers along the trunks of two African elephants. They then set up infrared cameras to record their movements in three dimensions. Results showed that elephants use about 20 movements to move their trunks. “Elephants have sort of a toolkit of simple movements, and they can combine these simple movements to complex trajectories,” Milinkovitch explained. “They can adapt to the object you give them.”

By capturing the movements of trunks with exceptional accuracy, the scientists will use the knowledge gained to create similar versatile movements in a robot. They plan to have a prototype robot arm for versatile gripping in various settings ready in 2022. “It’s a new paradigm in robotics,” Milinkovitch added. “Instead of using metallic segments connected by articulations, the idea is to have objects that are moving but they are made of flexible materials.”

The potential applications are numerous. The main uses will be on factory production lines in the manufacturing and food industries, and in healthcare to assist the elderly and people with disabilities.There’s another objective being considered for the largest land animals that has nothing to do with envisioning a new generation of universal robotic manipulators. “We also hope to increase awareness of the conservation of this very unique animal,” noted Lucia Beccai, senior researcher at Italy’s Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, the scientific research centre coordinating the EU-funded project PROBOSCIS behind the technological innovation. “There are a plethora of principles that we can learn from nature, it’s not just there for our well-being and happiness -- it is really an incredible source of engineering principles.”

“It’s also a feeling of wonder just looking at these amazing creatures,” Milinkovitch concluded, observing that two species of African elephants – the savanna elephant and the forest elephant – are threatened with extinction.