Related papers: A modular approach to adaptive structures
Modular organization characterizes many complex networks occurring in nature, including the brain. In this paper we show that modular structure may be responsible for increasing the robustness of certain dynamical states of such systems. In…
Energy absorbing materials, like foams used in protective equipment, are able to undergo large deformations under low stresses, reducing the incoming stress wave below an injury or damage threshold. They are typically effective in absorbing…
Auxetics refer to a class of engineered structures which exhibit an overall negative Poisson's ratio. These structures open up various potential opportunities in impact resistance, high energy absorption, and flexible robotics, among…
Many types of mammalian cells exert active contractile forces and mechanically deform their elastic substrate, to accomplish biological functions such as cell migration. These substrate deformations provide a mechanism by which cells can…
An attempt is made to quantitatively demonstrate the difference between a complex adaptive combat model and conventional combat models. The work shows that complex adaptive models may give rise to "turbulent" dynamics, which emerge once the…
The motive of this work is to understand the complex spatial characteristics of finite-amplitude elastic wave propagation in periodic structures and leverage the unique opportunities offered by nonlinearity to activate complementary…
Humans and animals developed a sophisticated motor control apparatus and there is much evidence that it has a modular structure. The modularity offers a range of benefits, e.g. ability to learn dissociable motion styles without interference…
Networks of biofilaments are essential for the formation of cellular structures that support various biological functions. For the most part, previous studies have investigated the collective dynamics of rod-like biofilaments; however, the…
In this study, we present a concept of morphing structure -- featuring an arch mounted on a compliant base -- that can be reconfigured via snap-through buckling and leverages bistability to retain its morphed shape. We show that…
Self-propulsion and navigation due to the sensing of environmental conditions - such as durotaxis and chemotaxis - are remarkable properties of biological cells that cannot be reproduced by single-component self-propelled particles. We…
The initiation of directional cell motion requires symmetry breaking that can happen both with or without external stimuli. During cell crawling, forces generated by the cytoskeleton and their transmission through mechanosensitive adhesions…
Active fluids, such as cytoskeletal filaments, bacterial colonies and epithelial cell layers, exhibit distinctive orientational coherence, often characterized by nematic order and topological defects. By contrast, little is known about…
Most biological flyers undergo orderly deformation in flight, and the deformations of wings lead to complex fluid-structure interactions. In this paper, an aerodynamic-structural coupling method of flapping wing is developed based on ANSYS…
Tuning of active prestress e.g. through activity of molecular motors constitutes a powerful cellular tool to adjust cellular stiffness through nonlinear material properties. Understanding this tool is an important prerequisite for our…
Controlled activity of active entities interacting with a passive environment can generate emergent system-level phenomena, positioning such systems as promising platforms for potential downstream applications in targeted drug delivery,…
Robotic systems operating in unstructured environments require the ability to switch between compliant and rigid states to perform diverse tasks such as adaptive grasping, high-force manipulation, shape holding, and navigation in…
Dynamically Adaptive Systems modify their behav- ior and structure in response to changes in their surrounding environment and according to an adaptation logic. Critical sys- tems increasingly incorporate dynamic adaptation capabilities;…
Swarming or collective motion of living entities is one of the most common and spectacular manifestations of living systems having been extensively studied in recent years. A number of general principles have been established. The…
Porous and flexible actuating materials are important in the development of smart systems. We report here a facile method to prepare scalable, flexible actuating porous membranes based on a poly(ionic liquid)-modified tissue paper. The…
In recent years, multi-modal fusion has attracted a lot of research interest, both in academia, and in industry. Multimodal fusion entails the combination of information from a set of different types of sensors. Exploiting complementary…