Roboticists at the Case School of Engineering draw inspiration from animals as they build robots that walk, crawl, slither and swim. Now the U.S. Navy wants them to take a deeper dive.

In May, the Office of Naval Research awarded $2.5 million to the Biologically- Inspired Robotics Lab in the Glennan Building in support of its efforts to build a crab-like robot that can crawl on the ocean floor.

The lab’s co-director, Kathryn Daltorio, ’05, MSE ’07, PhD ’13, said the project brings together a cross-disciplinary team to build a handy and durable robot.

“Crabs have figured out how to use one body plan for so many different tasks,” said Daltorio, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. “We’re trying to learn as much as we can from these animals—and then push beyond what they do naturally.”

The Navy has expressed interest in Daltorio’s work before. In 2019, she was honored with a 2019 Young Investigator Award from the Office of Naval Research. This project involves several of her col-leagues, including Assistant Professor Brian Taylor ’05, MS ’09, PhD ’12, who is studying air to sea deployment.

The Navy wants a robot that can be dropped from a helicopter and navigate its way to the sea floor. “That requires rethinking everything—materials, movement, sensing and intelli-gence—at once,” said Daltorio, adding that nature is “the best engineer.”