The objective of the project is to understand motion and perception systems of lower animal forms and to design and fabricate mini- and micro-machines inspired by such biological systems. The long term goal of the project is to develop an entirely new generation of autonomous smart machines able to interact with the environment in a life-like way and with performance comparable to those of the animals by which they are inspired. These bio-inspired machines may lead to many useful applications in various fields related to the "inspection" problem: for example in medicine and, in particular, in microendoscopy. The bio-like machines will be not only designed, but also fabricated, according to a biomimetic approach which merges sensing and actuation capabilities, by exploiting hybrid manufacturing techniques, high integration of active materials and sensors, and embedded low level control.