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SUMMARY:Mind Under Matter: Controlling Movements of Soft Animals and Robot
 s - Barry Trimmer\, Departments of Biology and Biomedical Engineering\, Tu
 fts University.
DTSTART:20171124T160000Z
DTEND:20171124T170000Z
UID:TALK95590@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Toby Howison
DESCRIPTION:Animals are remarkable for their ability to move around in com
 plex\, cluttered and variable environments. In contrast\, most autonomous 
 robots are confined to predictable environments (e.g. roads) or they inter
 act destructively with their surroundings. \n\nThis talk will present rese
 arch on the neural\, mechanical and tissue properties of soft animals (suc
 h as the caterpillar\, Manduca sexta) that explain how adaptive movements 
 are controlled and how this can be related to the design and control of so
 ft robots. The guiding framework is that morphological computation (embodi
 ed intelligence) is essential for soft animals to move in the natural worl
 d\, and that soft machines need to incorporate the same strategies.\n\nUnl
 ike most animals and soft robots\, caterpillars do not control their movem
 ents through pressure control or pneumatics. Instead they use a tension-ba
 sed crawling mechanism that allows them to conform to the substrate and re
 main fully soft. A critical element in this strategy is the ability to con
 trol grip release using both mechanical and neural mechanisms to synchroni
 ze movements. \n\nSome of these concepts have been implemented in a family
  of simple elastomeric robots (Softworms) and we have succeeded in generat
 ing caterpillar-like gaits based on model-free approaches using motion pri
 mitives and through distributed mechanical feedback. The next challenge is
  to make these robots climb in complex branched structures and to apply th
 e control approaches to more diverse body shapes.
LOCATION:CUED\, LR4
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