Cambridge’s new robot could help solve millions of years old evolution mystery

Cambridge researchers built a robot fish and a computer model to study how fish first moved onto land.

They found that unrelated species like grey bichir, African lungfish, and armored catfish use a similar primitive “undulating tripod” gait on land.

The result suggests convergent evolution may have shaped early walking abilities in vertebrates.

The team plans to apply the method to fossils such as Tiktaalik to better understand the water-to-land transition.