CAREER: Discovery and Dissemination of Neuromechanical Principles of Swimming, Walking and Running in Granular Media

在这个项目中，PI将开发一种在干燥和潮湿的颗粒状基质上运动的神经力学。这将被用来研究身体形态和姿势、肌肉、中央模式生成器(CPG)和感觉系统与复杂环境的物理特征(如固化和流态化)相互作用如何产生有效的运动。PI将研究三种生物--沙鱼蜥蜴、斑马蜥蜴和火蜥蜴--它们分别在颗粒基质内和颗粒基质上有效地游泳、行走和奔跑。这些生物将被选为在特定底物中有效运动的代表：沙鱼在沙子中游泳，斑马尾巴蜥蜴在各种颗粒状地形上奔跑，火蜥蜴在泥泞中行走。火蜥蜴还具有被认为是早期四足动物的代表特征。该项目将使用高速成像(可见光和X射线)、颗粒力平台和肌电(EMG)来记录运动学、动力学和肌肉活动。PI将使用流态化床开发可控颗粒基质，这将允许创建可重复的初始条件和快速扰动，以生成神经机械控制假说。还将建立用于检验假说的生物体机器人模型。这些模型将与目前的生物体相关，并将朝着开发陆地运动演化的量化假说迈出一步。对泥土和湿沙等软材料的物理理解将得到加强。这项工作对机器人学也有明显的影响；在灾难司空见惯、影响许多人生活的现代世界，迫切需要能够探索复杂变化地形的设备。PI将使用运动研究中的机器人来创建动手机器人模块，通过以下方式教授科学：1)为本科生开发和教授一门动手实验科学课程，重点是力学、电子和生物原理。2)暑假带K-12教师到佐治亚理工学院学习使用动手移动机器人套件。3)开展“机器人启发科学教育”(RISE)之夜，利用机器人激发兴趣，向公众传授科学原理。

In this project the PI will develop a neuromechanics of locomotion on dry and wet granular substrates. This will be used to address how effective movement results from the interaction of body morphology and posture, muscles, Central Pattern Generators (CPG), and sensory systems with the physical features of complex environments like solidification and fluidization. The PI will study three organisms -- sandfish lizards, zebratailed lizards, and salamanders -- that respectively swim, walk and run effectively within and on granular substrates. These organisms will be chosen as representatives of effective locomotion in a given substrate: the sandfish swimming in sand, the zebra-tailed lizard sprinting over a diversity of granular terrain, the salamander walking in mud. The salamander also embodies features thought to be representative of early tetrapods. The project will use high speed imaging (both visible light and x-ray), granular force platforms, and electromyography (EMG) to record kinematics, dynamics, and muscle activity. The PI will develop controlled granular substrates using fluidized beds which will allow both creation of repeatable initial conditions and rapid perturbations to generate neuromechanical control hypotheses. Robotic models of organisms to test hypotheses will be built as well. The models will have relevance to organisms in the present and will be a step toward development of quantitative hypotheses of the evolution of movement on land. Understanding of the physics of soft materials like mud and wet sand will be enhanced. The work also has clear implications for robotics; in the modern world, in which disasters are common and affect many lives, there is a pressing need for devices that can explore complex shifting terrain. The PI will use the robots from the locomotion research to create hands-on robot modules to teach science by: 1) Developing and teaching a course in hands-on experimental science for undergraduates emphasizing principles of mechanics, electronics and biology. 2) Bringing K-12 teachers to Georgia Tech in the summer to learn to use hands-on locomoting robot kits. 3) Developing "Robotics Inspired Science Education" (RISE) nights to utilize robots to generate interest and teach principles of science to the public.