On Jun 27, 2023 – Our stick insect robot, called ‘Black Mirror,’ was published in Advanced Science News on the topic of ‘Stick insects move robotics forward.’ This work draws inspiration from stick insect locomotion to teach robots how to walk using a novel system of self-organized limb movement. Initially, we tracked the joint and limb movements of a stick insect and subsequently translated this information into a stick insect robot. The robot features six legs, each equipped with three joints, and a foot contact feedback. The self-organized system was implemented on each leg of the robot, enabling it to walk without the need for a central connection between each appendage. As a result, in certain tests, the robot closely emulated stick insect motion, while in others, it exhibited novel patterns of movement.
For more details, see Alexander Dupond Larsen et al., Advanced Theory and Simulations, 2023.
