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Unusual robotic animals can prove their utility

The Robot Report surveys animal-inspired robots used or proposed for inspection, disaster response, research, and companionship, ranging from beetle-scale soft robots and snake-shaped pipe inspectors to quadrupeds and robotic pets. One cited example is KAIST’s BeetleBot, whose artificial muscles, camera, tactile sensor, and gesture control were reported in Science Advances on August 19, 2026; KAIST describes narrow-space inspection and object retrieval as future applications, not established field deployments. The article is a broad feature mixing research demonstrations, commercial products, historical examples, and speculative uses rather than a single new study or independent performance test.