ETRobots Mimic Disappearing Cockroaches

This is an American cockroach under a ledge. Credit： Jean-Michel Mongeau and Pauline Jennings. Courtesy of PolyPEDAL Lab UC Berkeley. View full size image

A robot that copies how cockroaches and geckos can disappear under ledges in the blink of an eye could lead to search-and-rescue droids with animal-like maneuverability， researchers say.

Scientists regularly look to nature for inspiration when designing robots， with the hope of learning from millions of years of evolution. Recent examples include droids that mimic the cheetah‘s stride or the legs of velociraptor.

While monitoring a cockroach with high-speed video cameras to see how it crossed gaps while running at high speeds， “we were surprised to find the insect gone，” said researcher Robert Full， an integrative biologist at the University of California at Berkeley.

“After searching， we discovered it upside-down under the ledge，” Full said. “After close inspection of the video， we saw that the cockroach was using its legs as grappling hooks by engaging its claws at the tip of the ledge.”

［Bug Juice： Turning Roaches into Living Fuel Cells］

The scientists then saw that geckos in the lab could also run off ledges at full speed and carry out this pendulumlike flip， dubbed “rapid inversion，” using hooklike toenails to swing themselves fully around to land firmly on the undersides of platforms. The researchers then contacted integrative biologist Ardian Jusufi who was studying geckos in the field in the rainforests of Singapore to see if the lizards dove over ledges the same way in the wild.

“We wondered whether this was a behavior really used in nature to escape predators，” Full said. “To his surprise， he found that a gecko chased to the end of a broken Bird’s Nest Fern leaf also disappeared. Using high-speed video， he showed that geckos used rapid inversion， just as observed in the laboratory.”

Apparently the animals can grab an edge with their claws — sometimes using only one leg， in the case of roaches — and retain 75 percent of their running energy as they swing like pendulums beneath it. They experience about three to five times the force of gravity with the flip， similar to what humans feel at the bottom of a bungee jump， said researcher Jean-Michel Mongeau at the University of California at Berkeley.

These findings not only explain why tiny animal pests we chase at times seem to disappear， but helped develop a robot capable of the maneuver. The researchers modified their six-legged cockroach-inspired DASH — Dynamic Autonomous Sprawled Hexapod — by attaching Velcro hooks to its back legs. After they glued Velcro loops near and underneath a ledge， they found DASH could duplicate the acrobatic move.

“The flip demonstrates a principle of how we might make small robots more agile and maneuverable，” Full said. “Ultimately， if we want search-and-rescue robots to assist first responders in the rubble left after an earthquake， tornado or explosion， or have greater capability to more rapidly detect chemical， biological or nuclear hazards， we must build far more agile robots with animal-like maneuverability.”

After cockroaches and geckos flip over ledges， they can then continue to run upside-down under surfaces. “The robot might be able to do so in the future” as well， Full said.

The scientists detailed their findings online June 6 in the journal PLoS ONE.

自動翻譯僅供參考

機器人模仿消失的蟑螂

ETRobots模仿消失Cockroaches

圖片來源：讓 - 米歇爾·Mongeau和保羅·詹寧斯。禮貌PolyPEDAL實驗室加州大學伯克利分校。查看原圖

? ? ? ?這是下一個窗臺的美洲大蠊。

那份如何蟑螂和壁虎能在在眨眼間窗臺消失可能導致搜索和救援機器人動物般的機動性的機器人，研究人員說。

科學家們經常尋找大自然的靈感在設計機器人時，與數百萬年的進化學習的希望。最近的例子包括模仿獵豹的步幅和迅猛的腿機器人。

當監測蟑螂用高速攝像機來看看它是如何在高速行駛時，同時運行，與 越過差距，我們驚奇地發現了蟲子， 說研究員羅伯特完整，一個綜合生物學家在加州大學伯克利分校。

搜索后，我們發現它的窗臺下顛倒，全說。 視頻的仔細檢查之后，我們看到蟑螂用它的腿是通過參與它的爪子在窗臺的一角抓鉤

錯誤汁：談到蟑螂進入生活燃料電池Bug Juice： Turning Roaches into Living Fuel Cells然后，科學家看到，在實驗室壁虎還可以流掉壁架全速進行這項pendulumlike翻轉，被稱為 快速反轉， 用鉤狀腳趾甲擺動自己完全各地要牢固降落在平臺下側。研究人員隨后聯系了綜合生物學家Ardian Jusufi誰正在研究壁虎在外地新加坡的熱帶雨林，看是否蜥蜴鳩占壁架以同樣的方式在野外

我們不知道這是否是一個行為真正用在本質逃避敵害， 全說。 令他吃驚的是，他發現，追逐一個破碎的鳥巢蕨葉年底壁虎也消失了。采用高速錄像，他發現，壁虎用于快速反轉，就如同在實驗室里觀察和 ;

顯然，動物可以抓住他們的爪子＆mdash邊緣;有時只用一條腿，在蟑螂＆mdash的情況下并保留75％的工作能量，因為他們就像擺在它下面擺。他們經歷的重力大約三到五倍力翻蓋，類似于人類感覺的蹦極跳的底部，研究人員表示，讓 - 米歇爾·Mongeau在加州大學伯克利分校。

這些發現不僅解釋了為什么微小的動物害蟲，我們有時追逐似乎消失了，但幫助開發能夠機動的機器人。研究人員修改了六條腿蟑螂風格的DASH＆mdash;動態自治趴六足＆mdash;通過將鉤魔術貼其后腿。之后，他們粘魔術貼環路附近，窗臺底下，他們發現DASH可以復制的雜技移動。

u0026 ;翻蓋展示了我們如何讓小機器人更靈活和可操作性， 宗旨全說。 最后，如果我們想要搜索和救援機器人，以幫助地震，龍卷風或爆炸后留下的廢墟第一響應者，或有更大的能力，以更迅速地探測化學，生物或核武器的危害，我們必須建立更為靈活的機器人動物般的機動性和 ;

后蟑螂和壁虎翻過窗臺，他們就可以繼續運行在表面上顛倒。 機器人可能能夠這樣做，將來 同時，全說。

科學家們詳細介紹了他們的發現在線6月6日在Plos One中.