Cockroaches Inspire Robot Antenna Design

While the mechanics side of engineering has grown exponentially over the past years, it is the theory and imagination behind new ideas that has been found wanting. Recently researchers have turned to nature for inspiration in the design process, for example a research team at John's Hopkins University led by Noah Cowan are currently working on an innovative robot antenna inspired by that of the common household cockroach. Cockroaches use their antennas to navigate dark rooms by sensing for example how much the antenna are bending at a certain moment and integrating the data obtained to get a feel of their surroundings. Cowan was able to integrate the physiology behind the efficiency with which cockroaches can use their antennas to move quickly around dark rooms with the mechanics he and his crew are capable of utilizing in their lab. The creative combination produced a successful cockroach antenna prototype that when applied to a commercial robot was able to be used to steer clear of obstacles such as walls. Biology-inspired designs are becoming more common, for example another research team is developing sensors resembling that of rat whiskers that they intend to apply to aid in robot maneuvering.

I think that the integration of biology with mechanics is going to become a dominant means of inspiring new ideas in the lab. There is no better place to look for plausible ideas than in a realm where their success is visible. As mentioned in the article, it is pertinent that researchers don't attempt to merely copy nature, but to build off of it's success. I believe that today's engineers will be capable of taking the theory behind nature's processes, making them even more efficient and finding limitless applications that will in turn push the boundaries of nature.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/04/0408_050408_cockroachrobot_2.html