Disappearing by Rapid Inversion

Mon, 02 Dec 2013 19:00:00 -0500

Primary Strategic Goal: Discovery. The goal of UC Berkeley’s Center for interdisciplinary Biological-inspiration in Education and Research (CiBER) IGERT is to train biology and engineering PhD students how to develop mutualistic teams that energize transformative, interdisciplinary, basic research and translate fundamental discoveries into societal benefits. Current challenges in science, engineering, industry and society demand research-based skills as well as the ability to collaborate on diverse, interdisciplinary teams, but this is seldom taught explicitly. Our training program in Bio-inspired Motion Systems Operating in Complex Environments focuses on interdisciplinary collaboration to translate biological discoveries into engineered devices, and to apply new engineering approaches to generate hypotheses and tools for biological research. The discovery of the rapid inversion behavior shows how an interdisciplinary approach can both advance the frontiers of knowledge and accelerate the translation towards a novel engineering advancement that can benefit society. Only through the unique combination of biologists, bioengineers, electrical, mechanical and control engineers could the present discovery and its translation have been made possible. Each group contributed knowledge and expertise so that the collective discovery was beyond what any single group could have imagined. In particular, the study shows the exceptional maneuverability of small animals. Animals the size of insects and geckos can seemingly maneuver in and around, up and down and sometimes through any degree of rubble at surprisingly fast speeds. Nature tells us that if we wish to rapidly find individuals trapped in rubble resulting from an earthquake or a terrorist bombing, then extracting the biomechanical principles from these acrobatic animals could provide just the needed solution to save lives. Engineers will now be able to further translate the inspiration from nature toward design of far more maneuverable search-and-rescue robots that will be able to save human lives directly or in disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, and explosions or by rapid detection of chemical, biological or nuclear hazards. Secondary Strategic Goal: Learning. This IGERT sponsored research reinforced four important lessons. First, IGERT Trainee Jean-Michel Mongeau and an undergraduate researcher were actually attempting to test a hypothesis related to the potential gyroscopic function of insect antennae by attempting to have the insect jump a large gap. To their surprise, when the animal reached the ledge it seemed to disappear. After reorientation of the high-speed camera, they realized they had discovered a new behavior serendipitously. Students learned how important it is to be prepared to see observations that do not directly address those expected, but can be a solution to a completely novel question. Second, once the students discovered this novel behavior in the cockroach, they immediately wondered whether this was a general behavior or one restricted to a single species. To test generality, they chose to look at a legged runner from a completely separate taxa, an animal with an endoskeleton, a tail and four legs. To their surprise, again, a gecko could also execute the rapid conversion maneuver. Students learned to search for general solutions and simple templates, like a swinging pendulum, that can apply to not only one species, but even to legged robots. Third, the study showed the importance of integrating both laboratory and field observations. After discovering the rapid inversion behavior, it was not clear if this simply was a laboratory artifact or something that animals can take advantage of in their natural habitat. Testing the hypothesis on gecko in the forests of South East Asia showed the relevance of this evasive maneuver for escape. Fourth, students were reminded once again, that you never know where fundamental research will lead. Students began by asking a question about a sensory structure, an antenna, but instead discovered a novel behavior that will increase the agility of future search-and-rescue robots. Additional URLs: