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All Articles Tagged As: lizards
 | The National Science Foundation has a Physics of Living program that funds research projects at the interface of biology, mathematical modeling, physics, and engineering. NSF has awarded Sunghwan Jung, principal investigator, along with Jake Socha, both assistant professors of engineering science and mechanics, and Pavlos Vlachos, professor of mechanical engineering, a little over a half a million dollars to investigate the water entry and exit problems that are apparent in engineering mechanics based on a better understanding of biology. ...> Full Article |
 | Lizards, just like cats, have a knack for turning right side up and landing on their feet when they fall. But how do they do it? Unlike cats, which twist and bend their torsos to turn upright, lizards swing their large tails one way to rotate their body the other, according to work that will be presented at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting on June 29. A lizard-inspired robot, called "RightingBot," replicates the feat. ...> Full Article |
Biologists identify new behavior in two species and engineers design robot that begins replicate it.
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 | A UC Berkeley study of how lizards use their tails when leaping through the trees shows that they swing the tail upward to avoid pitching forward after a stumble. Theropod dinosaurs ? the ancestors of birds - may have done the same. A robot model confirms the value of an actively controlled tail, demonstrating that adding a tail can stabilize robots on uneven terrain and after unexpected falls ? critical to successful search and rescue operations. ...> Full Article |
Researchers have developed a tank-like robot that has the ability to scale smooth walls, opening up a series of applications ranging from inspecting pipes, buildings, aircraft and nuclear power plants to deployment in search and rescue operations.
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The arrays of fine adhesive hairs on the foot pads of many insects, lizards and spiders give them the ability to climb almost any natural surface. A new study found that the different forces required to peel away these adhesive hairs from surfaces are what allows beetles to adhere to diverse surfaces, thereby reducing the risk of detachment. The study is published online in the Springer journal Naturwissenschaften -- The Nature of Science.
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Geckos have amazingly sticky feet. Their stickability comes from billions of dry microscopic hairs that coat the soles of their feet. However, when humidity increases, gecko feet stick even tighter to smooth surfaces, so how do they do it? Kellar Autumn and his colleagues have found that increased humidity softens the keratin that makes up the sticky foot-hairs, allowing them to deform and stick tighter to surfaces than hairs in dry conditions.
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 | The science behind gecko toes holds the answer to a dry adhesive that provides an ideal grip for robot feet. Stanford mechanical engineer Mark Cutkosky is using the new material, based on the structure of a gecko foot, to keep his robots climbing. ...> Full Article |
 | Rice graduate student Cary Pint has come up with a way to transfer forests of strongly aligned, single-walled carbon nanotubes from one surface to another -- any surface -- in a matter of minutes. The template used to grow the nanotubes, with its catalyst particles still intact, can be used repeatedly to grow more nanotubes, almost like inking a rubber stamp. ...> Full Article |
 | Nocturnal geckos are among the very few living creatures able to see colors at night, and scientists' discovery of series of distinct concentric zones may lead to insight into better cameras and contact lenses. ...> Full Article |
 | Successful construction of a gecko-inspired adhesive that is ten times stronger than a gecko, at about 100 newtons per square centimeter. ...> Full Article |
 | African lizard is inspiring materials scientists on new ways to design ultra-efficient non-resistant surfaces ...> Full Article |
 | New adhesive is first to mimic quick catch and rapid release traits of a gecko's foot ...> Full Article |
 | Velcro, Superglue and Post-It Notes... Three things that started out as obscure inventions but are now indispensable for everyday life. So what will the next idea to stick with modern society look like? The answer may lie in the tiny toes of a humble lizard, according to a University of Calgary biologist who is trying to figure out how geckos can cling to virtually any surface, including glass. ...> Full Article |
 | Animals that alter their movement-based signals to overcome visually 'noisy' environments could lead to a better understanding of vision systems and improve the capacity of 'seeing' machines, according to scientists from The Australian National University. ...> Full Article |
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