All the EcoBot systems were meant to mimic real digestion and respiration (an artificial metabolism) in order to create a robot capable of autonomous behavior.
"Robosquirrel" joins a growing list of robot creatures created by UC Davis which include a robot lizard -- used to study display behavior in anole lizards in the Puerto Rican jungle.
That's not to say every bot was on its best behavior: The University of Central Florida's robot confused a driveway for a road, parking itself at an abandoned house.