June 06, 2012 06:37pm 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.

机器人模仿消失的蟑螂

2012年6月6日下午6时37 ETRobots模仿消失Cockroaches

这是下一个窗台的美洲大蠊。图片来源：让 - 米歇尔·Mongeau和保罗·詹宁斯。礼貌PolyPEDAL实验室加州大学伯克利分校。查看原图

那份如何蟑螂和壁虎能在在眨眼间窗台消失可能导致搜索和救援机器人动物般的机动性的机器人，研究人员说.

科学家们经常寻找大自然的灵感在设计机器人时，与数百万年的进化学习的希望。最近的例子包括模仿猎豹的步幅和迅猛的腿机器人.

当监测蟑螂用高速摄像机来看看它是如何在高速行驶时，同时运行，与QUOT越过差距，我们惊奇地发现了虫子， ＆QUOT;说研究员罗伯特完整，一个综合生物学家在加州大学伯克利分校.

＆QUOT;搜索后，我们发现它的窗台下颠倒，＆QUOT;全说。 ＆QUOT;视频的仔细检查之后，我们看到蟑螂用它的腿是通过参与它的爪子在窗台的一角抓钩＆QUOT;

[错误汁：谈到蟑螂进入生活燃料电池Bug Juice: Turning Roaches into Living Fuel Cells然后，科学家看到，在实验室壁虎还可以流掉壁架全速进行这项pendulumlike翻转，被称为＆QUOT;快速反转，＆QUOT;用钩状脚趾甲摆动自己完全各地要牢固降落在平台下侧。研究人员随后联系了综合生物学家Ardian Jusufi谁正在研究壁虎在外地新加坡的热带雨林，看是否蜥蜴鸠占壁架以同样的方式在野外

＆QUOT;我们不知道这是否是一个行为真正用在本质逃避敌害，＆QUOT;全说。 ＆QUOT;令他吃惊的是，他发现，追逐一个破碎的鸟巢蕨叶年底壁虎也消失了。采用高速录像，他发现，壁虎用于快速反转，就如同在实验室里观察和QUOT;

显然，动物可以抓住他们的爪子＆mdash边缘;有时只用一条腿，在蟑螂＆mdash的情况下并保留75％的工作能量，因为他们就像摆在它下面摆。他们经历的重力大约三到五倍力翻盖，类似于人类感觉的蹦极跳的底部，研究人员表示，让 - 米歇尔·Mongeau在加州大学伯克利分校.

这些发现不仅解释了为什么微小的动物害虫，我们有时追逐似乎消失了，但帮助开发能够机动的机器人。研究人员修改了六条腿蟑螂风格的DASH＆mdash;动态自治趴六足＆mdash;通过将钩魔术贴其后腿。之后，他们粘魔术贴环路附近，窗台底下，他们发现DASH可以复制的杂技移动.

u0026 QUOT;翻盖展示了我们如何让小机器人更灵活和可操作性，＆QUOT宗旨;全说。 ＆QUOT;最后，如果我们想要搜索和救援机器人，以帮助地震，龙卷风或爆炸后留下的废墟第一响应者，或有更大的能力，以更迅速地探测化学，生物或核武器的危害，我们必须建立更为灵活的机器人动物般的机动性和QUOT;

后蟑螂和壁虎翻过窗台，他们就可以继续运行在表面上颠倒。 ＆QUOT;机器人可能能够这样做，将来＆QUOT;同时，全说.

科学家们详细介绍了他们的发现在线6月6日在Plos One中.