Heads or Tails? Cranio-Caudal Mass Distribution for Robust Locomotion with Biorobotic Appendages Composed of 3D-Printed Soft Materials
- 983 Downloads
Abstract
The addition of external mass onto an organism can be used to examine the salient features of inherent locomotion dynamics. In this biorobotics study general principles of systems in motion are explored experimentally to gain insight on observed biodiversity in body plans and prevalent cranio-caudal mass distributions. Head and tail mass can make up approximately 20% of total body mass in lizards. To focus on the effect of differential loading of the ‘head’ and the ‘tail’ we designed an experiment using weights of 10% total body mass connected to the front and rear at varying distances to simulate biological mass distribution. Additive manufacturing techniques with compliant materials were utilized to make the biomimetic limbs. Obstacle traversal performance was evaluated over 126 trials in a variety of Moment of Inertia (MOI) configurations, recording pitch angles. Results showed that a forward-biased MOI appears useful for regaining contact in the front wheels during obstacle negotiation, while large passive tails can have a destabilising effect in some configurations. In our robophysical model, we explore both wheeled and legged locomotion (‘whegs’), and additionally examine damping the motion of the chassis by utilizing soft non-pneumatic tires (‘tweels’) which reduce body oscillations that arise from locomotion on irregular terrain.
Keywords
Bioinspired robot Soft robotics Additive manufacturingReferences
- 1.Ackerman, J., Seipel, J.: Energy efficiency of legged robot locomotion with elastically suspended loads. IEEE Trans. Rob. 29(2), 321–330 (2013)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 2.Autumn, K., et al.: Evidence for van der Waals adhesion in gecko setae. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 99(19), 12252–12256 (2002)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 3.Ballinger, R.E., Nietfeldt, J.W., Krupa, J.J.: An experimental analysis of the role of the tail in attaining high running speed in Cnemidophorus sexlineatus (Reptilia: Squamata: Lacertilia). Herpetologica 35, 114–116 (1979)Google Scholar
- 4.Ballinger, R.E., Tinkle, D.W.: On the cost of tail regeneration to body growth in lizards. J. Herpetology 13(3), 374–375 (1979)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 5.Basu, C., Wilson, A.M., Hutchinson, J.R.: The locomotor kinematics and ground reaction forces of walking giraffes. J. Exp. Biol. 222(2), jeb159277 (2019)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 6.Brown, R.M., Gist, D.H., Taylor, D.H.: Home range ecology of an introduced population of the European wall lizard podarcis muralis (Lacertilia; Lacertidae) in Cincinnati, Ohio. Am. Midl. Nat. 133, 344–359 (1995)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 7.Carrier, D.R., Walter, R.M., Lee, D.V.: Influence of rotational inertia on turning performance of theropod dinosaurs: clues from humans with increased rotational inertia. J. Exp. Biol. 204(22), 3917–3926 (2001)Google Scholar
- 8.Chapple, D., Swain, R.: Effect of caudal autotomy on locomotor performance in a viviparous skink, niveoscincus metallicus. Funct. Ecol. 16(6), 817–825 (2002)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 9.Daniels, C.B.: Running: an escape strategy enhanced by autotomy. Herpetologica 39, 162–165 (1983)Google Scholar
- 10.Daniels, C.B., Flaherty, S.P., Simbotwe, M.P.: Tail size and effectiveness of autotomy in a lizard. J. Herpetology 20(1), 93–96 (1986)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 11.Dawson, T.J., Taylor, C.R.: Energetic cost of locomotion in kangaroos. Nature 246(5431), 313 (1973)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 12.Emmons, L.H., Gentry, A.H.: Tropical forest structure and the distribution of gliding and prehensile-tailed vertebrates. Am. Nat. 121(4), 513–524 (1983)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 13.Essner, R.L.: Three-dimensional launch kinematics in leaping, parachuting and gliding squirrels. J. Exp. Biol. 205(16), 2469–2477 (2002)Google Scholar
- 14.Gillis, G., Higham, T.E.: Consequences of lost endings: caudal autotomy as a lens for focusing attention on tail function during locomotion. J. Exp. Biol. 219(16), 2416–2422 (2016)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 15.Ijspeert, A.J., Crespi, A., Ryczko, D., Cabelguen, J.M.: From swimming to walking with a salamander robot driven by a spinal cord model. Science 315(5817), 1416–1420 (2007)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 16.Ijspeert, A.J.: Biorobotics: using robots to emulate and investigate agile locomotion. Science 346(6206), 196–203 (2014)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 17.Jagnandan, K., Higham, T.E.: Lateral movements of a massive tail influence gecko locomotion: an integrative study comparing tail restriction and autotomy. Sci. Rep. 7(1), 10865 (2017)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 18.Jusufi, A., Kawano, D.T., Libby, T., Full, R.J.: Righting and turning in mid-air using appendage inertia: reptile tails, analytical models and bio-inspired robots. Bioinspiration Biomimetics 5(4), 045001 (2010)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 19.Jusufi, A., Goldman, D.I., Revzen, S., Full, R.J.: Active tails enhance arboreal acrobatics in geckos. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 105(11), 4215–4219 (2008)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 20.Jusufi, A., Zeng, Y., Full, R.J., Dudley, R.: Aerial righting reflexes in flightless animals. Integr. Comp. Biol. 51(6), 937–943 (2011)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 21.Kram, R., Dawson, T.J.: Energetics and biomechanics of locomotion by red kangaroos (Macropus rufus). Comp. Biochem. Physiol. B: Biochem. Mol. Biol. 120(1), 41–49 (1998)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 22.Li, C., Zhang, T., Goldman, D.I.: A terradynamics of legged locomotion on granular media. Science 339(6126), 1408–1412 (2013)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 23.Libby, T., et al.: Tail-assisted pitch control in lizards, robots and dinosaurs. Nature 481(7380), 181–184 (2012)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 24.Lin, Z.H., Qu, Y.F., Ji, X.: Energetic and locomotor costs of tail loss in the Chinese skink, Eumeces chinensis. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. A 143(4), 508–513 (2006)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 25.Martin, J., Avery, R.: Effects of tail loss on the movement patterns of the lizard, Psammodromus algirus. Funct. Ecol. 12(5), 794–802 (1998)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 26.Mitchell, G., Skinner, J.: How giraffe adapt to their extraordinary shape. Trans. R. Soc. S. Afr. 48(2), 207–218 (1993)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 27.Patel, A., Braae, M.: Rapid turning at high-speed: inspirations from the cheetah’s tail. In: IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), pp. 5506–5511 (2013)Google Scholar
- 28.Spagna, J.C., Goldman, D.I., Lin, P.C., Koditschek, D.E., Full, R.J.: Distributed mechanical feedback in arthropods and robots simplifies control of rapid running on challenging terrain. Bioinspiration Biomimetics 2(1), 9–18 (2007)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 29.Spenko, M.J., et al.: Biologically inspired climbing with a hexapedal robot. J. Field Robot. 25(4–5), 223–242 (2008)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 30.Sponberg, S.: The emergent physics of animal locomotion. Phys. Today 70(9), 34–40 (2017)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 31.Spoor, C., Badoux, D.: Descriptive and functional morphology of the locomotory apparatus of the spotted hyaena. Anat. Anz 168, 261–266 (1989)Google Scholar
- 32.Talori, Y.S., Zhao, J.S., Liu, Y.F., Lu, W.X., Li, Z.H., O’Connor, J.K.: Identification of avian flapping motion from non-volant winged dinosaurs based on modal effective mass analysis. PLoS Comput. Biol. 15(5), e1006846 (2019)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 33.Warren, J.V.: The physiology of the giraffe. Sci. Am. 231(5), 96–105 (1974)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 34.Willey, J.S., Biknevicius, A.R., Reilly, S.M., Earls, K.D.: The tale of the tail: limb function and locomotor mechanics in alligator mississippiensis. J. Exp. Biol. 207(3), 553–563 (2004)CrossRefGoogle Scholar