BIOLOCH BIO-mimetic structures for LOComotion in the Human body http://www.ics.forth.gr/bioloch

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BIOLOCH BIO-mimetic structures for LOComotion in
the Human bodyhttp//www.ics.forth.gr/bioloch

• Neuro-IT Workshop
• Leuven, December 3, 2002

Paolo Dario Project Coordinator
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IST-2001-34181 - BIOLOCH BIO-mimetic structures
for LOComotion in the Human body

• List of Principal Investigators of BIOLOCH
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• Project Co-ordinator Prof. Paolo Dario
• Project Manager Dr. Arianna Menciassi
• Technical Team Co-ordinators
• SSSA Prof. Paolo Dario
• UBAH Mech Eng Prof. Julian Vincent
• UniPi Prof. Danilo De Rossi
• FORTH Dr. Dimitris Tsakiris
• UoT Prof. Marc Schurr

• Starting date May 1, 2002
• End date April 30, 2005
• Project Duration 36 months
• Funding
• Total costs 1.654.570
• Community Funding 1.503.900
• Partners
• Scuola Superiore SantAnna (SSSA) - Pisa (I)
  Co-ordinator
• University of Bath, Department of Mechanical
  Engineering (UBAH Mech Eng) United Kingdom
• Centro "E. Piaggio", Faculty of Engineering,
  University of Pisa (UniPi) - Italy
• FORTH - Foundation for Research and Technology
  Hellas (FORTH) - Greece
• University of Tuebingen, Section for minimally
  invasive surgery (UoT) - Germany

Project Coordinator Prof. Paolo Dario CRIM Lab -
Scuola Superiore S. AnnaPiazza Martiri della
Libertà, 33 56127 PISA (ITALY) Tel.
39-050-883400 / 39-050-883401Fax.
39-050-883402e-mail dario_at_mail-arts.sssup.it
web site http//www-crim.sssup.it
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WHAT is the OBJECTIVE of the project

• Objective
• To understand motion and perception systems of
  lower animal forms
• To design and fabricate mini- and micro-machines
  inspired by such biological systems.
• Long term goal
• A new generation of autonomous smart machines
  with
• life-like interaction with the environment
• performance comparable to the animals by which
  they are inspired.
• Envisaged application(s)
• The "inspection" problem in medicine (
  microendoscopy) and
• Rescue micro-robotics
• Underground (space?) exploration

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HOW we plan to ADDRESS the objectives
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Taxonomy of locomotion mechanisms and their
classification according to engineering
principles (1/3)
Adhesion by suction, friction, biological glue,
van der Waals force
Force Ease of replication Type of surface Stability
Suction 2 5 Smooth 2
Friction 3 5 Rough 4
Biological Glue 1 2 Both 1
Van der Waals 5 1 Smooth 3
Force Ease of replication Type of surface Stability
Suction
Friction
Biological Glue
Van der Waals
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Taxonomy of locomotion mechanisms and their
classification according to engineering
principles (2/3)
Locomotion by paddle-worm, pedal,
earthworm/peristaltic, serpentine,
rectilinear-serpentine
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Taxonomy of locomotion mechanisms and their
classification according to engineering
principles (3/3)
Energy consumption Contact surface Stability Ease of artificial replication and control
Pedal
Peristlatic
Contract-anchor-extend
Serpentine
Rectilinear
Concertina
Sidewinding
Polypedal (4 legs)
Polypedal (6 legs)
Energy consumption Contact surface Stability Ease of artificial replication and control
Pedal 1 Rough, wet 5 5
Peristlatic 1 Rough, wet 5 4
Contract-anchor-extend 1 Rough, wet 5 4
Serpentine 4 Rough 5 2
Rectilinear 3 Flat 5 2
Concertina 3 Not enough frictional 5 2
Sidewinding 4 Not rigid (sandy soil) 5 1
Polypedal (4 legs) 5 All 3 1
Polypedal (6 legs) 2 All 4 2
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Octopus an example of biological
perception-reaction mechanism
The octopus has the most complicated brain of all
the invertebrates. The octopus brain is estimated
to have 300,000,000 neurons. These neurons are
arranged in lobes and tracts that are more
specialized than simple ganglia. A bundle of
giant nerve fibers tied to the mantle give them
very rapid reflexes.
An octopus moves its arms simply by sending a
"move" command from its brain to its arms and
telling them how far to move The arm does the
rest, by controlling its own movement as it
extends
Even isolated from the arm, suckers appear to
function normally for an hour or more because of
reflex.
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Earthworm an example of biological
perception-reaction mechanism

• The nervous system of the earthworm is
  "segmented" just like the rest of the body
• the "brain" is located above the pharynx and is
  connected to the first ventral ganglion
• the brain is important for movement
• if the brain of the earthworm is removed, the
  earthworm will move continuously
• if the first ventral ganglion is removed, the
  earthworm will stop eating and will not dig.

Each segmented ganglion gets sensory information
from only a local region of its body and controls
muscles only in this local region. Earthworms
have touch, light, vibration and chemical
receptors all along the entire body surface.
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Medical specifications
Description of force parameters of the colonic
tract in interaction with endoscopic devices and
techniques

• Mesenteric hazards
• Tears
• Ruptures

• Parameters for
• walking inside the colon
• Forces
• Wall elasiticity

Force / step ratio
Mesenteric resistance
Device advancement forces
Colonic wall resistance

• Parameters for
• creeping inside
• the colon
• With tail
• Without tail

• Colonic hazards
• Perforation

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Design and fabrication of bio-inspired adhesion
mechanisms
Friction is enhanced when the compliant tips are
pushed outward
(a) normal configuration (b) flow in (c) flow
out
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Model and simulation of the polychaete locomotion
mechanism
The polychaete (paddle-worm) can move in water or
mud environments thanks to a sinusoidal motion
joined with a passive motion of lateral paddles.
The motion waves are perpendicular to the
locomotion direction. The friction between the
surface and the paddles is a parameter which can
be adjusted.
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Model and simulation of the inchworm/peristaltic
locomotion mechanism
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Two points (Ao in x and Bo in x dx at time t0)
move from A1 and B1 (time t) to A2 and B2 (time
tdt).
Where ? is the axial displacement function Since
the volume of the segment between Aj and Bj (j0,
1, 2) must be constant, we can write
Integrating in time and with some
simplifications, we find
where f(x) is an arbitrary function. The
displacement function ?(x, t) is identically zero
when t 0, because the displacements are
evaluated from the reference configuration.
Hence
We finally find
Simulation parameters
Trajectory of a generic point on the surface of
the Earthworm expressed as of the length
Initial length 1 Initial radius 0.02
(1/50) Number of waves 1 Wave length l/20
Small radial displacements (lt0.5) corresponds to
long axial displacements (gt5), which is optimal
for locomotion
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Enabling technologies design paradigm
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Enabling technologies an outline on smart
actuators
Active membrane
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Enabling technologies sensing and control
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Preliminary technological implementations
Friction-based minirobot two counter motors, an
eccentric mass, asymmetrical skates
Artificial paddle-worm
IPMC actuator for hook protruding
Inchworm locomotion with biological glue
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Enabling technologies
Shape Deposition Manufacturing (Stanford
University)
Promising technique to fabricate flexible
bio-mimetic structures embedding sensors and
actuators
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WHAT are the expected ACHIEVEMENTS
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WHAT would be the IMPACT of the project
The main expected results of BIOLOCH are new
design paradigms and engineering models for an
entirely new generation of biomimetic mini- and
micro-machines able to navigate in tortuous and
soft environments in a life-like manner. To
exploit a sophisticated biomimetic hardware
structure (incorporating complex mechanisms,
sensors, actuators and embedded signal
processing) to explore advanced biomimetic
control strategies.
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Proposed VISIONARY ACTIONS for a future FET
program in the 6FP
Collaborative ensemble of micro-burrowers
(proposal for visionary actions starting from the
BIOLOCH Project?) Autonomous micro-burrowers,
able to operate in a collaborative manner in the
pursuit of a common goal underground. Such a
group of micro-burrowers could be valuable in the
context of search and rescue (SR) operations for
people trapped in buildings, mines, etc., which
may have collapsed as a result of earthquakes,
attacks, etc. These sensor-carrying robots could
be sent to explore this underground, unstructured
environment, possibly having to dig through
rubble, in order to gain access to victims,
structures or equipment. The solutions that
biological organisms (e.g. ants, bees) have
developed for communication, coordination,
cooperative localization and planning, could
provide valuable insights in such an
endeavor.