RT Generic
T1 Analysis of the motion of soft animals (Gastropods)
A1 Guerrero Campos, Andrea
AB Terrestrial gastropods crawl by means of a train of pedal waves produced by thecontraction and relaxation of the muscles in their ventral foot. The areas between twoconsecutive pedal waves are known as interwave regions and they remain stationary tothe substrate while crawling happens. Adhesive locomotion of terrestrial gastropodsinvolves the secretion of a non-Newtonian yield-stress mucus that communicates thestress of the ventral foot to the ground.This project puts forward a theoretical model in which the only source of adhesivelocomotion is the geometry of the pedal waves, rather than the rheological properties ofthe mucus. The model is based on the proven existence of small vertical displacements inthe ventral surface of terrestrial gastropods and provides a region where any combinationof values for the pedal wavelength and the lag between the horizontal and vertical pedalwaves allows locomotion to happen. In order to validate this theoretical model, the imagestaken during a set of experiments performed by Universidad Carlos III in collaborationwith the University of California and Stanford University in 2010, have been analyzedthrough a Digital Particle Image Velocimetry technique. In summary, the aim of thisproject is to answer the following question: can a biomimetic robot crawl using aNewtonian mucus?The results show that for three out of the four experiments analyzed, the values obtainedfit in the region proposed by the model. Even if three experiments are not conclusiveenough to validate the calculations, this project opens the doors to the development ofbiomimetic robots capable of mimicking terrestrial gastropod’s adhesive locomotionusing substances exhibiting a Newtonian behavior.
YR 2018
FD 2018-09
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10016/29357
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10016/29357
LA eng
DS e-Archivo
RD 18 may. 2024