Cockroaches and geckos have helped scientists to create new robots

Cockroaches and geckos use their body as a pendulum for a kind of flips when jumping from one branch of the tree on its opposite side. This helps them to become "invisible" and escape from predators, according to American biologists. 

A new study by scientists dedicated to the commission of a seemingly impossible maneuvers that allow insects to escape unnoticed or reach his victim. Thus, geckos and cockroaches have the ability to quickly jump to the opposite side of the branches, boards, or any other bulky items in the event of a threat to life. behavior of cockroaches, acrobats studied a group of biologists and engineers led by Jean-Michel Mongo at the University of California at Berkeley, USA. " When viewed from the side it was quite clear what was happening, but we took this process on a high-speed camera and slowed down the video, we were struck by the fact that cockroaches use their hind legs to grab the surface and the upheaval in the opposite direction, "- said Mongo. According to researchers, cockroaches use his body as a kind of pendulum, which are the thread of an insect leg.

Mayatnikopodobnoe motion during the jump can reach the opposite side of the branch or the board, without slowing down their movement and using the momentum to somersault. In this movement the insects feel sufficiently high overload. Scientists have calculated that in the cockroach effect acceleration force 3,8 G, which can be compared with the loads experienced by astronauts during takeoff or landing shuttles. unravel the secret of the cockroaches, the researchers conducted a similar experiment with the gecko. It turned out that geckos use exactly the same mechanism for making the jump to the other side plates. To attach the end of the branches of geckos use claws and special sticky hairs on their hind legs. Engineers used the data to create a robot DASH, simulating the movement of geckos and cockroaches. As a substitute for the claws on the legs and cockroach sticky hairs on gecko feet, scientists have used Velcro fasteners, half of which they are attached to the feet of work and stuck on both sides of the plates. This design allowed the job successfully jump from one side of the board to another and keep going.Mongo and his colleagues believe that their work will help create robots that can overcome any obstacles as well as animals. "To date, some robots are good at running or climbing, but there are few machines can simultaneously do both, or to quickly switch between modes of motion. This is the main objective of the current robotics - the development of robots that can move in a geometrically complex surface and wade into dangerous areas, where the manager can not get them people "- concludes a member of the group, Robert Full.

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