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The transition from water to land is one of the most significant events in the history of life on Earth. Now, a team of roboticists, palaeontologists and biologists is using robots to study how the ancestors of modern land animals transitioned from swimming to walking, about 390 million years ago.

, the research team, led by the University of Cambridge, outline how ‘palaeo-inspired robotics’ could provide a valuable experimental approach to studying how the pectoral and pelvic fins of ancient fish evolved to support weight on land.

"Since fossil evidence is limited, we have an incomplete picture of how ancient life made the transition to land,” said lead author , a Postdoctoral Research Associate at ������ and from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering. “Palaeontologists examine ancient fossils for clues about the structure of hip and pelvic joints, but there are limits to what we can learn from fossils alone. That’s where robots can come in, helping us fill gaps in the research, particularly when studying major shifts in how vertebrates moved.”

Ishida is a member of Cambridge’s , led by Professor Fumiya Iida. The team is developing energy-efficient robots for a variety of applications, which take their inspiration from the efficient ways that animals and humans move.

Read the full story on the University of Cambridge website: