Similarly, when an octopus changes skin color in self-defense, such as by mimicking a poisonous sea snake, the decision may come not from central command but from the skin itself.

WSJ: The Brains of the Animal Kingdom

At present, Superbot units respond to direct instructions, such as to form legs and climb a hill or reconfigure into a snake-like shape to go through a pipe.

CNN: Robotics discovers its soft side

Among the rental items: a two-meter-long snake, an orangutan and some lizards and tarantulas. (The island is home to such creatures as pythons, macaques and fruit bats.) While the castaways need to be mentally and physically fit, wilderness experience isn't a must.

CNN: Have Footage, Will Travel