Touchy-feely robot takes on the darkness

摘要

The Etruscan shrew can detect, capture and kill its next meal using just its sense of touch. It is a pretty impressive feat. And now artificial intelligence researchers have built Shrewbot - a robotic version of the mammal to help them understand how it does the trick. The Etruscan shrew is the smallest known mammal. It weighs less than 2 grams and its body is just 4 centimetres long. The shrew lives by catching insects almost as large as itself in darkness, using only its whiskers to detect them.