Insects have hundreds of sensors on each leg that contribute to the individual motion of each leg and also provide coordinating information to other legs.
These sensors measure position of joints, stress from loading of the leg, force generated by muscles, and also ground contact.
Researchers from the Entomology and
Molecular & Integrative Physiology departments collaborated on a paper
detailing the location and function of these sensors and targeted this
information for use by engineers.
We have used equivalent mechanical and electrical sensors on the robot to mimic the information provided by the biological sensors found in insects.
In particular, a foot sensor was designed
and machined by Casey Smith (ECE undergraduate student) who received an
award from the ECE department for his innovative design.