Achieving animal endurance in robots through advanced energy storage

Abstract

Bioinspired mobile robots move with comparable efficiency to their animal counterparts but lag by more than an order of magnitude in system-level energy density because of battery limitations. This Review quantifies this energy gap, evaluates hardware strengths and current battery weaknesses, and proposes benchmarking frameworks for future technologies. Using Spot as a case study, we identify the battery chemistries needed to match the energy storage in animals and propose technologies to unleash robotic endurance.