Related papers: The two body problem: proprioception and motor con…
Self-propelling organisms locomote via generation of patterns of self-deformation. Despite the diversity of body plans, internal actuation schemes and environments in limbless vertebrates and invertebrates, such organisms often use similar…
Robotic navigation has historically struggled to reconcile reactive, sensor-based control with the decisive capabilities of model-based planners. This duality becomes critical when the absence of a predominant option among goals leads to…
Spatially-embedded complex networks, such as nervous systems, the Internet and transportation networks, generally have non-trivial topological patterns of connections combined with nearly minimal wiring costs. However the growth rules…
Fish often travel in highly organized schools. One of the most quoted functions of these configurations is energy savings. Here, we verified the hypothesis and explored the mechanism through series of experiments on "schooling" robotic…
In order to keep their cohesiveness during locomotion gregarious animals must make collective decisions. Many species boast complex societies with multiple levels of communities. A common case is when two dominant levels exist, one…
We analyze a one dimensional version of a model of morphogen transport, a biological process governing cell differentiation. The model was proposed by Hufnagel et al. to describe the forming of morphogen gradient in the wing imaginal disc…
Integrating Large Language Models (VLMs) and Vision-Language Models (VLMs) with robotic systems enables robots to process and understand complex natural language instructions and visual information. However, a fundamental challenge remains:…
Progress has led to a detailed understanding of the neural mechanisms that underlie decision making in primates. However, less is known about why such mechanisms are present in the first place. Theory suggests that primate decision making…
For robots to handle the numerous factors that can affect them in the real world, they must adapt to changes and unexpected events. Evolutionary robotics tries to solve some of these issues by automatically optimizing a robot for a specific…
A coarse grained description of a two-dimensional prey-predator system is given in terms of a 3-state lattice model containing two control parameters: the spreading rates of preys and predators. The properties of the model are investigated…
Limbless locomotors, from microscopic worms to macroscopic snakes, traverse complex, heterogeneous natural environments typically using undulatory body wave propagation. Theoretical and robophysical models typically emphasize body…
Cell deformability is an essential determinant for tissue-scale mechanical nature, such as fluidity and rigidity, and is thus crucial for understanding tissue homeostasis and stable developmental processes. However, numerical simulations…
Moving in complex environments is an essential capability of intelligent mobile robots. Decades of research and engineering have been dedicated to developing sophisticated navigation systems to move mobile robots from one point to another.…
The processes that determine the establishment of the complex morphology of neurons during development are still poorly understood. We present experiments that use live imaging to examine the role of vesicle transport and propose a…
Although typically possessing four limbs and short bodies, lizards have evolved a diversity of body plans, from short-bodied and fully-limbed to elongate and nearly limbless. Such diversity in body morphology is hypothesized as adaptations…
Space robots have played a critical role in autonomous maintenance and space junk removal. Multi-arm space robots can efficiently complete the target capture and base reorientation tasks due to their flexibility and the collaborative…
Dendrites are branched neuronal processes that receive input signals from other neurons or the outside world [1]. To maintain connectivity as the organism grows, dendrites must also continue to grow. For example, the dendrites in the…
Animals achieve sophisticated behavioral control through dynamic coupling of the brain, body, and environment. Accordingly, the co-design approach, in which both the controllers and the physical properties are optimized simultaneously, has…
We study a novel architecture and training procedure for locomotion tasks. A high-frequency, low-level "spinal" network with access to proprioceptive sensors learns sensorimotor primitives by training on simple tasks. This pre-trained…
This study offers an interdisciplinary approach to movement technique analysis, designed to deal with intensive interaction between an environment and a trainee. The free-fall stage of skydiving is investigated, when aerial maneuvers are…