Geometric visualization of self-propulsion in a complex medium

Abstract

Combining geometric mechanics theory, laboratory robotic experiment and numerical simulation, we study the locomotion in granular media (GM) of the simplest non-inertial swimmer, the Purcell three-link swimmer. Using granular resistive force laws as inputs, the theory relates translation and rotation of the body to shape changes (movements of the links). This allows analysis, visualization, and prediction of effective movements that are verified by experiment. The geometric approach also facilitates comparison between swimming in GM and in viscous fluids.

4 pages, 5 figures, published in Physical Review Letters 2013

References in corpus (2)

• The hydrodynamics of swimming microorganisms
• A geometric theory of swimming: Purcell's swimmer and its symmetrized cousin

Cited by in corpus (23)

• A review on locomotion robophysics: the study of movement at the intersection of robotics, soft matter and dynamical systems
• Self-learning how to swim at low Reynolds number
• Mechanical Intelligence Simplifies Control in Terrestrial Limbless Locomotion
• Coordinating tiny limbs and long bodies: geometric mechanics of diverse undulatory lizard locomotion
• Optimization and small-amplitude analysis of Purcell's three-link microswimmer model
• Self-organized swimming with odd elasticity
• A general locomotion control framework for multi-legged locomotors
• Self-propulsion via slipping: frictional swimming in multi-legged locomotors
• Optimal Gaits for Drag-dominated Swimmers with Passive Elastic Joints
• Optimizing snake locomotion on an inclined plane
• The role of symmetry and dissipation in biolocomotion
• Dynamics and locomotion of flexible foils in a frictional environment
• Collective synchronization of undulatory movement through contact
• Field-mediated locomotor dynamics on highly deformable surfaces
• Efficient sliding locomotion of three-link bodies
• Robust undulatory locomotion via neuromechanical adjustments in a dissipative medium
• Locomotion without force, and impulse via dissipation: Robotic swimming in curved space via geometric phase
• Lateral contact yields longitudinal cohesion in active undulatory systems
• Topological phases in discrete stochastic systems
• Anisotropic frictional model for an object sliding in a granular media
• Irreversibility of stochastic state transitions in Langevin systems with odd elasticity
• Geometrically Modulable Gait Design for Quadrupeds
• A Data-Driven Approach to Connection Modeling