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Lessons From Cockroaches Could Inform Robotics
Examining in minute detail how cockroaches maintain their footing may help in the development of steadier robots.
Credit: newswise
University of Michigan researchers are studying how biological systems stabilize themselves, which could help them design steadier robots. During testing with cockroaches, the researchers found that they were able to maintain their footing mechanically, using their momentum and the spring-like architecture of their legs, instead of relying on impulses sent from their central nervous system to their muscles.
"The response time we observed is more than three times longer than you'd expect," says Michigan professor Shai Revzen.
To gather information about the roaches' gait, the researchers used a high-speed camera to constantly measure the position of each of the insects' six feet, as well as the ends of its body. Software then merges the continuous data collected from the cameras into an estimate of where the roach is within its gait cycle.
Revzen says the findings suggest the insect adjusts its gait only at whole-step intervals rather than at any point in a step. Periodic, rather than continuous, feedback system might lead to more stable walking robots.
"The animals obviously have much better mechanical designs than anything we know how to build," Revzen says. "But if we could learn how they do it, we might be able to reproduce it."
From University of Michigan News Service
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