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VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//RLASKEY//CALENDEROUS//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260824T134923Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20130114T134920Z
DTSTART:20130128T170000Z
DTEND:20130128T180000Z
UID:event1052@bu.edu
URL:http://physics.bu.edu/internal/events/show/1052
SUMMARY:Active control of friction by snakes
DESCRIPTION:Featuring David Hu\, Georgia Tech University\nHosted by: Sidney
	 Redner\n\nPart of the Biophysics/Condensed Matter Seminar Series.\n\nAbstr
	act Snakes are one of the world's most versatile organisms\, at ease slithe
	ring through rubble or climbing vertical tree trunks.  Their adaptations fo
	r conquering complex dry terrain thus serve naturally as inspirations for s
	earch-and-rescue robotics.  In a combined experimental and theoretical inve
	stigation\, we elucidate the modes of locomotion used by snakes\, including
	 sinuous slithering\, an accordion-like concertina motion and a worm-like r
	ectilinear motion.  We show how snakes optimize their efficiency by their c
	hoice of gait and frictional properties.  Particular attention is paid to a
	 novel paradigm in locomotion: a snake's active control of its scales enabl
	es it to modify its frictional interactions with the ground.  We apply this
	 discovery to build bio-inspired limbless robots that have superior sensiti
	vity to the current state of the art: Scalybots 1 and 2 have individually c
	ontrolled sets of belly scales enabling them to climb slopes of 45 degrees 
	with their scales alone.
LOCATION:SCI 352\, 590 Commonwealth Avenue\, 02215
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CLASS:PUBLIC
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