Animals must sense their environment in order to navigate. American cockroaches (Periplaneta americana L.) in the natural world often face navigation challenges in cluttered, low-light environments. To supplement their vision, they use their antenna as tactile probes. They can track surfaces with their long antennae by letting the antenna bend against the surface and rapidly […]
We tested whether mechanical stabilization strategies without external sensing can yield successful locomotion in a challenging environment. In this study, we ran cockroaches (Blaberus discoidalis) over a highly complex terrain with obstacles up to three times cockroach hip height to repeatedly perturb body dynamics. Cockroaches provide excellent systems for neuromechanical experiments because they are experimentally robust and […]
Why back when Simon was an undergraduate at Lewis & Clark College his first experience with the research in biomechanics was working with Prof. Kellar Autumn (visit him here!) to figure out how geckos stick. It turns out that gecko feet are covered in millions of tiny hairs called setae. Each of these hairs branches […]
