Mechanical models for insect locomotion: dynamics and stability in the horizontal plane-II. Application

J Schmitt; P Holmes

doi:10.1007/s004220000180

Mechanical models for insect locomotion: dynamics and stability in the horizontal plane-II. Application

Biol Cybern. 2000 Dec;83(6):517-27. doi: 10.1007/s004220000180.

Authors

J Schmitt¹, P Holmes

Affiliation

¹ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, NJ 08544, USA.

PMID: 11130584
DOI: 10.1007/s004220000180

Abstract

We study the dynamics and stability of legged locomotion in the horizontal plane. We discuss the relevance of idealized mechanical models, developed in a companion paper, to recent experiments and simulations on insect running and turning. Applying our results to rapidly running cockroaches, we show that the models' gait and force characteristics match observations reasonably well.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Algorithms
Animals
Biomechanical Phenomena
Cockroaches / physiology
Gait / physiology
Insecta / physiology*
Locomotion / physiology*
Models, Neurological*
Rotation
Running / physiology