01733nas a2200217 4500008004100000022001400041245003700055210003700092300001200129490000700141520111900148653002901267653001901296653002201315653002501337653002001362100001801382700002201400700002201422856007101444 2014 eng d a0020-746200aCrawling on directional surfaces0 aCrawling on directional surfaces a65 - 730 v613 a
In this paper we study crawling locomotion based on directional frictional interactions, namely, frictional forces that are sensitive to the sign of the sliding velocity. Surface interactions of this type are common in biology, where they arise from the presence of inclined hairs or scales at the crawler/substrate interface, leading to low resistance when sliding ‘along the grain’, and high resistance when sliding ‘against the grain’. This asymmetry can be exploited for locomotion, in a way analogous to what is done in cross-country skiing (classic style, diagonal stride). We focus on a model system, namely, a continuous one-dimensional crawler and provide a detailed study of the motion resulting from several strategies of shape change. In particular, we provide explicit formulae for the displacements attainable with reciprocal extensions and contractions (breathing), or through the propagation of extension or contraction waves. We believe that our results will prove particularly helpful for the study of biological crawling motility and for the design of bio-mimetic crawling robots.
10aBio-mimetic micro-robots10aCell migration10aCrawling motility10aDirectional surfaces10aSelf-propulsion1 aGidoni, Paolo1 aNoselli, Giovanni1 aDeSimone, Antonio uhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020746214000213