Research progress in gecko locomotion and biomimetic gecko-robots

Geckos are known for their excellent ability to climb walls and run on ceilings. Previous studies of the gecko's locomotive and adhesive mechanisms, its neuro-sensory and neuro-modulatory systems, its fabrication of artificial setae array, and other related developments, have inspired further research on gecko-based and gecko-like robots. Key research findings in this area are reviewed in the present paper.     

The expression of morphine-induced behavioral sensitization depends more on treatment regimen and environmental novelty than on conditioned drug effects

Both conditioned responses (CRs) and sensitized behaviors induced by addictive drugs are considered to reflect drug-seeking motivation. Based on an excitatory conditioning model of behavioral sensitization, this work hypothesizes that conditioned locomotor activity and locomotor sensitization concomitantly occur using different drug treatment regimens. In the present study, conditioned locomotor activity and sensitized locomotion and stereotypy are assessed with pretreatment of two doses of morphine in a familiar or novel environment. When rats are trained with morphine (3 or 5 mg/kg) in an environment to which the animals are habituated, a CR but not contextual sensitization is induced when tested after 1 week of abstinence. When rats receive the 5 mg/kg dose of morphine immediately after placement into a novel environment, the same results are obtained, but when the drug dose is decreased to 3 mg/kg, both the CR and contextual sensitization are observed. Therefore, the sensitized behaviors, rather than the CR produced by morphine pretreatment, appear to be dependent on the drug treatment regimen and environmental novelty, suggesting that different mechanisms may be involved in the expression of the CR and contextual sensitization.     

Development of behavior and learning inAplysia

Summary A set of fundamental issues in neuroethology concerns the neural mechanisms underlying behavior and behavioral plasticity. We have recently analyzed these issues by combining a simple systems approach in the marine molluscAplysia with a developmental analysis aimed at examining the emergence and maturation of different forms of behavior and learning. We have focussed on two kinds of questions: 1) How are specific neural circuits developmentally assembled to mediate different types of behaviors? and 2) how is plasticity integrated with these circuits to give rise to different forms of learning? From our analysis of the development of learning and memory inAplysia, several themes have emerged: 1) Different forms of learning emerge according to different developmental timetables. 2) Cellular analogs of learning have the same developmental timetables as their respective forms of behavioral learing. 3) An analysis of non-decremented responses prior to the emergence of sensitization reveals a novel inhibitory process on both behavioral and cellular levels. 4) Sensitization emerges simultaneously in diverse response systems, suggesting an underlying general process. 5) A widespread proliferation of central neurons occurs in the same developmental stage as the emergence of sensitization, raising the possibility that some aspect of the trigger for neuronal proliferation may also contribute to the expression of sensitization.     

四足机器人斜坡运动的自适应控制算法

受到自然界中四足动物运动的启发,提出了一种四足机器人对角小跑步态下的坡面运动自适应控制算法.在机器人质心原有运动轨迹上加入横向和纵向偏移补偿量,并采用符号微分策略梯度法对质心偏移补偿量进行自动调整,以减少机体翻转力矩和对角足着地时间差,从而提高机器人运动稳定性.在Webots软件中建立了四足机器人的模型并进行仿真试验,仿真结果表明所提出的算法能够有效提高四足机器人坡面运动的稳定性.      

一种蛇形机器人蜿蜒运动的实现及环境适应性研究

生物蛇数量众多的脊椎骨以及无足的身体结构,使其形成了特殊的蜿蜒式前进步态,能够广泛适应于草地、沙漠和湖泊等起伏地形,这种节律性的运动方式被证明是由中枢模式发生器(CPG)控制的.利用Hopf振荡器的稳态特性建立了能够实现蛇形机器人蜿蜒步态的CPG步态控制网络,依据蛇形机器人的模型仿真器得到了控制蜿蜒运动的CPG网络参数,并利用该网络的输出蛇形机器人成功实现了前进.根据Hopf振荡器对控制参数突然变化的良好适应性,通过在线调整得到了新的输出.讨论了面对复杂环境时蛇形机器人转弯运动的实现以及改变蛇形机器人身体S波构形来提高其环境适应性的方法.在蛇形机器人样机上的实验证明了基于CPG的运动控制方法在蛇形机器人蜿蜒运动上的有效性.     

机器鱼的研究动态综述

机器鱼具有提高水下推进器的性能,且具有鱼类的高速、高效、灵活、噪声低的特点。首先从鱼的生理学角度及其游动机理分析和综述机器鱼的设计问题,其次分析了机器鱼必须解决的驱动、结构设计、稳定、防水等问题。最后探讨了这一领域关键的研究课题——速度效率、机动性、决策系统、定位导航、多传感器信息融合以及多机器鱼 方面的研究。     

轮履复合式变形车轮的设计与越障性能分析

不同行进结构对各种复杂的非结构化路面条件具有不同的适应性和通过性.文中结合轮式、履带式运动机构的优点,提出一种可以根据路面条件改变车辆行进模式的新型轮履复合式变形车轮.变形车轮由变径轮辋部件和履带轮部件组成.在同一驱动机构作用下,变形车轮能以轮式或履带式两种运动模式在复杂的路面上运动,使车辆具有良好的地面适应性和通过性.变形车轮采用模块化设计,可以代替普通充气式轮胎直接安装在车辆上.对变形车轮两种运动模式的分析表明:变径比越大,与轮式模式相比,履带模式的爬坡性能和翻越台阶性能优势越明显.     

无损伤医用肠道机器人驱动机理

提出了一种结构简单的医用肠道机器人的驱动机构．利用弹性流体动压润滑理论，详细分析计算了肠道机器人在不同弹性模量、不同半径和不同粘液粘度的肠道内的轴向运行速度和形成的粘液膜厚度．肠道实验研究结果表明，该肠道机器人能以较快速度在肠道内悬浮运行．     

Noninvasive method to drive medical micro-robots

A noninvasive method to drive medical micro-robots into endocoeles has been proposed and a kind of medical micro robot driven by the method has been designed. The robot has a spirally grooved impeller. When the spirally grooved impeller rotates, a hydrodynamic film between the robot and endocoeles is formed because of mucus existence in endocoeles. The generated axial thrust force of the impeller can drive robots to move. Because the hydrodynamic film is formed when the robot moves in endocoeles, injury may be prevented, so it can alleviate or avoid pain of sufferers. The generated axial thrust force of the impeller has been estimated according to the hydrodynamic lubrication theory and has been confirmed by experiments.     

Research on bionic quadruped robot based on hydraulic driver

A prototype of hydraulically powered quadruped robot is presented.The aim of the research is to develop a versatile robot platform which could travel fleetly in outdoor terrain with long time of endurance and high load carrying ability.The current version is 1.1m long and 0.48 m wide,and weights about 150 kg.Each leg has four rotational joints driven by hydraulic cylinders and one passive translational joint with spring.The torso carries the control system and the power system.A novel control algorithm is developed based on a Spring-Loaded Inverted Pendulum model and the principle of joint function separation.The robot can not only cross a 150 mm high obstacle in static gait and trot at 2.5km/h and lkm/h on the level-ground and 10°sloped-terrain respectively,but also automatically keep balanced under lateral disturbance.In this paper,the mechanical structure and control systems are also discussed.Simulations and experiments are carried out to validate the design and algorithms.