Cockroaches offer 'bioinspiration' for creation of running robots

Washington, Dec 29 (ANI): A cockroach running on the kitchen floor could be a nauseating sight for many, but for researchers at Oregon State University the insects are "bioinspiration" in their quest to build the world's first legged robot that is capable of running effortlessly over rough terrain.

And if they succeed, they would owe it to what's being learned from these insects and other animals, such as the guinea hen, that have their own remarkable abilities.

The latest findings outline how animals use their legs to manage energy storage and expenditure, and why this is so important for running stability.

"Humans can run, but frankly our capabilities are nothing compared to what insects and some other animals can do. Cockroaches are incredible. They can run fast, turn on a dime, move easily over rough terrain, and react to perturbations faster than a nerve impulse can travel," said John Schmitt, an assistant professor in the School of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at OSU.

Schmitt said that within certain limitations, cockroaches don't even have to think about running - they just do it, with muscle action that is instinctive and doesn't require reflex control. And that's what the engineers are trying to achieve.

Right now some robots have been built that can walk, but none of them can run as well as their animal counterparts.

Even walking robots absorb far too much energy and computing power to be very useful.

"If we ever develop robots that can really run over rough ground, they can't afford to use so much of their computing abilities and energy demand to accomplish it. A cockroach doesn't think much about running, it just runs. And it only slows down about 20 percent when going over blocks that are three times higher than its hips. That's just remarkable, and an indication that their stability has to do with how they are built, rather than how they react," said Schmitt.

If successful, running robots could serve valuable roles in difficult jobs, such as military operations, law enforcement or space exploration, said Schmitt.

He said that related technology might also be applied to improve the function of prosthetic limbs for amputees, or serve other needs.

The OSU researchers are trying to identify some of the basic biological and mechanical principles that allow certain animals to run so well and effortlessly.

In a computer model, the researchers have created a concept that would allow a running robot to recover from a change in ground surface almost as well as a guinea hen.

They are studying how the interplay of concepts such as energy storage and expenditure, sensor and feedback requirements, and leg angles can produce recovery from such perturbations.

Ultimately, OSU engineers hope to use knowledge such as this to actually build robots that can efficiently run over rough terrain without using significant computing power.

The study has been published in the professional journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics. (ANI)