Blooded robots and tortoise-inspired amphibious vehicles are two of the projects awarded by the Office of Naval Research last week to early-career scientists working in creative Navy-relevant research.

The Young Investigator Program awards, totaling $16 million in grants, were given to scientists whose projects hold "strong promise" and relevancy to military applications for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

"For 32 years, this program has attracted the highest-quality researchers from across academia," said Dr. Larry Schuette, ONR's director of research. "It remains fiercely competitive and we are fortunate to have these top scientists working on behalf of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps."

One recipient was Cornell University's Dr. Robert Shepherd. Working out of the Organic Robotics Laboratory at Cornell, Shepard's goal is to make robots act more like animals.

Blood is one thing animals have that robots do not have, at least not yet, Shepherd told Military Times. Blood delivers energy and regulates heat in the animals, it is possible the same can be done for robots.

"It might seem that adding something sloppy like blood to a robot is going backward, but I think it is one of the first stages in rethinking robotics and taking advantage of our new abilities in additive manufacturing that can literally grow them," Shepherd said.

Shepherd believes this research could be beneficial for exoskeletons because these machines operate with hydraulic systems that require heavy hydraulic fluids, a fluid that could potentially mimic blood in animals.

"The idea is simply to make better use of these liquids. For example, storing electrical potential in the fluid — liquid batteries that are both the hydraulic fluid and the batteries in exoskeletal robots," Shepherd explained.

Over at Yale University, the research of Dr. Rebecca Kramer, another ONR awardee, focuses on bio-robotics inspired by sea turtles and tortoises, with the end goal of designing a biological unmanned untethered vehicle.

"Soft and reconfigurable robots that mimic natural systems have the potential of operating in environments where traditional robots would not be able to function," Kramer told Military Times.

For the U.S. Navy, the benefits of an unmanned sea vehicle with aquatic animal characteristics are attractive.

These vehicles would be able to perform in variable sea states and changing tidal conditions.

"Such capabilities will allow the robots to perform a number of tasks in variable environments including payload delivery, mine detection and disposal, surveillance, environmental monitoring and diver support," Kramer said.

The 2017 award recipients were chosen from a pool of 360 applicants from 25 academic institutions; the average grant is roughly $510,000 over three years.

Shawn Snow is a staff writer and Military Times' Early Bird editor. On Twitter:

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Shawn Snow is the senior reporter for Marine Corps Times and a Marine Corps veteran.

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