robots | Biomechanics in the Wild

Dune’s Ornithopters: Future or Fantasy?

Thousands of fans stormed to theaters over the first weekend of March 2024 to watch Denis Villaneuve’s highly anticipated Dune: Part 2. Incredible sci-fi visuals filled the big screen, including the fascinating Ornithopter, an aircraft that flies like a dragonfly. With so many modern aircraft inspired by biological flight, what makes insect-like flight, characterized by rapid flapping movements, difficult to engineer?

Model of an Ornithopter, a sci-fi aircraft created by *Dune* author Frank Herbert that resembles a dragonfly.

This question drove my fascination with insect wings and their unique biomechanical properties. They can perform complex aerial maneuvers, remain stable in turbulent environments, and sustain long flight times—all with tiny, delicate wings. We’ll dive into the mechanical and biological factors that make this possible and explore how understanding insect flight paves the way for possible engineering applications such as micro air vehicles (MAVs).

How Goats Defy Gravity and How it Has Inspired Engineers

In the world of engineering, the optimization of prosthetics and robotics is at the forefront of research. However, many designs are faced with the same problem – poor stability, especially when it comes to rough or sloped surfaces. This prevents amputees from being able to enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking and rock climbing, and traversing robots from being able to perform complex search and rescue. So, researchers have gotten creative and have decided to look into nature. Naturally, mountain goats became a prime source of inspiration due to their ability to seemingly defy gravity when scaling mountain tops. How do they do this? To answer this question, plenty of research has been conducted to look into things like goat anatomy, joint angles, centers of mass, ground reaction forces, and more.

What’s Good in Robotic Post-Stroke Rehabilitation Therapy

As medicine progresses, the quality of life improves for everyone, resulting in more people living longer. Unfortunately, as a result of an increasing number of people living longer, the number of stroke victims has increased as well. A stroke is a disease that affects blood flow to and inside the brain, causing the loss of movement and control in parts of the body. This loss of control leaves stroke victims very dependent on relying on others to help live a normal life.

Bat Flight Inspired Flapping Wing Robots Design

You might be familiar with fixed-wing drones, which are popular for filming and photographing. But have you thought about the bio-inspired flapping-wing robots? Researchers who study how bats fly are trying to apply the knowledge to the development of next-gen flying robots.

You might be familiar with fixed-wing drones, which are popular for filming and photographing. But have you thought about the bio-inspired flapping-wing robots? Researchers who study how bats fly are trying to apply the knowledge to the development of next-gen flying robots.

Innovative plant: How does the dandelion drift its seeds?

How far do you think a dandelion seed can drift from its base plant?

A Second Chance: Robotic Exoskeletons May Be the Future of Mobility for Patients with Spinal Cord Injuries

No one ever imagines themselves getting seriously injured. Accidents do happen though, like car crashes and unexpected sports injuries. These events can drastically change a person’s life, leaving them unable to perform simple daily tasks without assistance, such as walking. One injury that can radically impact a person’s life is a spinal cord injury. There are approximately a quarter of a million people in the United States with spinal cord injuries, and that number grows by 12,500 each year.

Soft Robotics: Humanizing the Mechanical

In media and science-fiction, robots have stereotypically, and perhaps somewhat unfairly, been depicted as mechanical, stiff assemblies of moving joints and complicated circuitry. While this still holds true for many robots designed today, whether for industry or research, the past few years have seen a growing interest in soft robotics in academia, industry, and popular culture. As the name implies, many research groups have begun investing in constructing robots from compliant, softer materials.

The Weight of Combat: Are powered exoskeletons the solution to heavy combat loads?

Have you ever wondered how much weight a soldier carries in a combat zone?

Medical Marvel: Robotic exoskeletons enable those with spinal cord injury to walk again

A fall off of her horse in 2007 caused Claire Lomas to lose all function in her legs. In 2012, she completed the London Marathon, all 26.2 miles. Robotic exoskeletons can literally get people back on their feet shortly after a spinal cord injury occurs, but how exactly do these medical devices not only supplement but restore human performance? What does the future look like for robotic exoskeletons and those with paralysis?

Can we 3D print our own skin?

Can you imagine a world where amputees receive replacement limbs which are able to detect temperature and pressure like an actual limb? How about a world where when you get a cut, you can 3D print some of your own skin to patch the wound?

Tag: robots