Comparison of gecko and robot landings (IMAGE) University of California - Berkeley Caption The Asian flat-tailed gecko would prefer a four-point landing after leaping to a tree trunk, but if it can't slow down sufficiently, it may have to crash head first into the trunk, rebounding but stabilizing itself with its tail. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany built a soft robot with an active tail to replicate this behavior. Credit Photos by Ardian Jusufi, illustration by Andre Wee Usage Restrictions none License Original content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.