Pop! Observing and Modeling the Legless Self-righting Jumping Mechanism of Click Beetles

Ophelia Bolmin, Chengfang Duan, Luis Urrutia, Ahmad M. Abdulla, Alexander M. Hazel, Marianne Alleyne, Alison C. Dunn, Aimy Wissa

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

Abstract

Click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae) have evolved a jumping mechanism to right themselves when on their dorsal side, without using their legs or any other appendages. This paper describes and analyzes the stages of the click beetle jump using high-speed video recordings and scanning electron micrographs of four beetle species, namely Alaus oculatus, Ampedus nigricollis, Ampedus linteus and Melanotus spp. The body of the click beetle is considered as two masses linked by a hinge. Dynamic and kinematic models of the jump stages are developed. The models were used to calculate the hinge stiffness and the elastic energy stored in the body during the jump. The modeling results show agreement with the experimental values. The derived models provide a framework that will be used for the design of a click beetle inspired self-righting robot.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)35-47
Number of pages13
JournalLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume10384 LNCS
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017
Event6th International Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems, Living Machines 2017 - Stanford, United States
Duration: Jul 26 2017Jul 28 2017

Keywords

  • Click beetle inspired robot
  • Legless jumping
  • Self-righting robot

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Theoretical Computer Science
  • General Computer Science

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