Scientists have long been interested in the mechanisms that underlie the movements of mantis shrimp.Researchers
In the new work, the researchers simulated the mechanics of a mantis shrimp's impact and created a robot that mimicsthese movements.
The speed and force of mantis shrimp strikes are a consequence of a complex underlying mechanism.If we build a robot in the form of an appendage of a praying mantis shrimp, we will be able to study these mechanisms in as much detail as possible.
Research text
Many small organisms, such as frogs, chameleons, and even some plant species, canUltra-fast moving: They store elastic energy and release it quickly with the help of a snap-on mechanism that looks like a mousetrap.
Mantis shrimp move in a similar way:they have two small structures embedded in the tendons called sclerites and act like a latch. As soon as the crustacean removes the latch, the spring immediately releases the stored energy. However, praying mantis shrimp do not have specific muscles that are unlike other crustaceans, so it is not clear what, if not muscles, controls these movements.
The authors of the new work have built a robotica model of a praying mantis shrimp, after which a mathematical model of its movement was developed. The researchers mapped the four phases of the strike, starting with the snapped sclerites and ending with the actual appendage strike. They found that indeed, after the latch is removed, the appendage stays in place until it reaches the centering point, and then the latch is released.
The researchers simulated this process on a 1.5-gram robot the size of a shrimp.It didn't reach the speed of a mantis shrimp, but it did hit faster than other similar devices.
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