Hi, you're about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from Discovery.

Time flies when you're learning super cool stuff. I'm Nate.

And I'm Callie. If you're dropping in for the first time

welcome to curiosity where we aim to blow your mind by helping you to grow your mind.

If you're a loyal listener, welcome back. Today you'll learn about how squirrels are

parkour experts and can be used to teach robots to move in a similar way

How artificial intelligence can help expectant mothers predict childbirth risks and the gangs of dolphins that are roaming our oceans.

Without further ado, let's satisfy some curiosity.

Cali, I'm going to cut straight to the chase here.

Today I'm going to tell you about how scientists are using

squirrels to teach robots how to parkour.

What? Okay, hi to you too, but also I have so many questions and the first one is going to be

what? Well a recent study has found that parkour athletes use similar techniques

to squirrels when they're leaping and climbing.

For anyone who doesn't know, Parkor is a form of free running where people jump over and

duck under obstacles at great speeds while leaping long distances.

Okay, but why would we want to teach robots to move around like a

squirrel in the first place? Well a team of researchers at the University of

California Berkeley studied the biomechanics of squirrels bounding around

eucalyptus trees and flinging themselves from one branch to another.

And when they saw this, they thought that it was an interesting opportunity to try and improve artificial intelligence systems in robotics

so that robots can more easily navigate difficult types of terrain.

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