Biomimetic ratcheting motion of a soft, slender, sessile gel.
Inspired by the locomotion of terrestrial limbless animals, we study the motion of a lubricated rod of a hydrogel on a soft substrate. We show that it is possible to mimic observed biological gaits by vibrating the substrate and by using a variety of mechanisms to break longitudinal and lateral symmetry. Our simple theory and experiments provide a unified view of the creeping, undulating, and inchworming gaits observed in limbless locomotion on land, all of which originate as symmetry-breaking bifurcations of a simple base state associated with periodic longitudinal oscillations of a slender gel. These ideas are therefore also applicable to technological situations that involve moving small, soft solids on substrates.
Mahadevan
L
L
Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB3 0WA, United Kingdom. LM@deas.harvard.edu
Daniel
S
S
Chaudhury
M K
MK
D000818:Animals; D000845:Annelida / Q000502:physiology; D040761:Biomimetic Materials; D032701:Biomimetics; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology; D020100:Hydrogels; D008124:Locomotion / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D009038:Motion; D012908:Snails / Q000502:physiology; D012911:Snakes / Q000502:physiology
D020100:Hydrogels