Event

Mathematical model and artificial armor improve caterpillar crawling on glass

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A research team from the University of Naples Federico II and the University of Palermo used a spring-mass crawling model to analyze the movement of Pieris brassicae caterpillars on wood, steel, slate and glass, finding that crawling performance is strongly correlated with surface roughness: the microscopic roughness of glass is insufficient for the prolegs to grip, so the caterpillars have difficulty traversing it. The team says that in a proof-of-concept experiment, fitting the larvae with artificial armor that increases body stiffness and adds mass improved effective friction and adhesion, enabling them to pass over glass surfaces they could not otherwise walk on. The researchers thereby identified strategies by which soft robots can attach to and move across a variety of materials.