In response to the changing environment, chameleons can adjust their skin colors to communicate and create disguise during locomotions. By mimicking their behaviors, we present structural-color actuators that can sense the environment and give responses of non-fatigued vivid color alterations and programmable shape transformations. Due to the sensitive vapochromic and robust vapomechanical response properties, these […]

Manta rays are very efficient swimmers which are able to travel at high speed over large distances despite their large sizes. This paper covers the design, experiment and prototype testing of a propulsive mechanism for Robot Manta Ray. The propulsive mechanism and the pectoral fins of the Robot Manta Ray were designed based on some […]

This paper presents the re-creation of the bell deformation cycle of the Aequorea victoria jellyfish. It focuses on the design, fabrication, and characterization of the bio-inspired bell kinematics of an IPMC actuated robotic jellyfish. The shape and bell kinematics of this underwater vehicle are based on the Aequorea victoria jellyfish. This medusa is chosen as […]

This paper presents the results of an experimental study on limbless snake-like locomotion. The experimental plate-form consists of a 9-DOF wheel-less snake-like robot and an appropriate artificial environment. The wheel-less snake-like mechanism has a planar structure and is mainly dedicated to move through lateral undulation, the most common limbless locomotion type observed in natural snakes. […]

Birds are highly capable and maneuverable fliers, traits not currently shared with current small unmanned aerial vehicles. They are able to achieve these flight capabilities by adapting the shape of their wings during flight in a variety of complex manners. One feature of bird wings, the primary feathers, separate to form wingtip gaps at the […]