Can a robot that mimics a climbing and walking lizard provide new insights into the evolution and benefits of different movements in humans and other animals?
The answer is yes, according to a new international and interdisciplinary study published on Thursday night. Natural roboticsco-authored by Dr Christofer Clemente of the University of the Sunshine Coast.
“These results could also help us build faster and more efficient legged robots,” said Dr. Clemente, who specializes in the biomechanics of living and extinct animals.
“This could one day prove important in overcoming obstacles to finding survivors during search and rescue missions.”
“Our research team developed a lizard-inspired robot that can run and climb, and combined biology, robotics and mathematics based on lizard locomotion to understand whether it was better to move with legs or spine,” Dr. Clemente said.
“We found that to move quickly, you need to use your legs mostly and move your spine as little as possible. But using your spine a little bit helps you expend less energy.
“We also found that moving the limbs or spine too much tended to decrease stability while climbing, meaning the robots were more likely to fall off the wall.”
Lizards are the masters of locomotion
Lead author Dr Robert Rockenfeller from the University of Koblenz said that overall they found that optimal locomotion required both spinal and limb movements, which closely matched the movement patterns of lizards.
“The results help to detail the magnitude of evolutionary trade-offs between three key performance criteria – speed, efficiency and stability – and to determine the relative strength of these selection pressures on locomotion,” said Dr. Rockenfeller.
Dr Clemente said that among vertebrates, movement patterns vary widely, from the spine-based lateral movements of fish and salamanders to the primarily limb-based movements of mammals and birds.
“However, lizards use both their limbs and their spines, making them the perfect species to study to help fill in the gaps in understanding why these changes may have occurred,” he said.
The research team’s lizard-inspired robot was able to run on level ground and climb on inclined or vertical surfaces, with changeable leg lengths and the ability to adjust the range of motion of its spine and limbs as well as the speed of its stride.
“We also built a performance landscape to evaluate its climbing efficiency and stability,” Dr. Clemente said.
“These data were mapped using results from a two-dimensional theoretical model of lizard locomotion as well as measurements from more than 40 species of climbing and running lizards.”
These results could lead to “advances” in the design of faster and more efficient legged robots.
We were able to identify several engineering criteria to consider when developing robotic devices with limbs capable of traversing a wide variety of environments.
“Lateral spine undulation does not necessarily have to be an important consideration if maximizing robot speed is the primary goal, but it can be important for reducing energy consumption.”
Likewise, this understanding can also help design faster, more stable and more efficient robotic strides.
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