Graduate Program in Bio-inspired Motion Systems Operating in Complex Environments
Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF)
Center for Interdisciplinary Bio-Inspiration in Education & Research (CiBER)
SeminarsOctober 2011 George Lauder of Harvard University will be presenting the lecture "Using robotics as a comparative method to understand the functional and evolutionary diversity of fishes" on Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 4pm in 2040 VLSB. Please click here for the flier. Our current understanding of the diversity of fish structure and function has been achieved largely by applying comparative functional and phylogenetic analyses to different species in a variety of clades. But using a comparative approach alone makes it difficult to isolate individual traits and study the effect of variation in single traits on performance, while keeping all other aspects of morphology and physiology constant. In this presentation, I will discuss a diversity of robotic models of fish fin and body structure, ranging from simple to complex, that we have developed for the study of fish locomotion. These robotic systems have proven useful for understanding basic physical principles of aquatic locomotor dynamics in fishes, and for comparative analyses of fish functional designs. Robotics is a valuable comparative method that provides a new avenue for understanding the functional and evolutionary diversity of locomotor systems in fishes. Lab web site: www.oeb.harvard.edu/lauder 
Alexander J. Smits of Princeton University will be presenting the lecture "Hydrodynamics of Manta Ray Swimming" on Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 4pm in 3110 Etcheverry. Please click here for the flier. Aquatic animals propel themselves using a wide variety of mechanisms. In manta rays, propulsion is achieved by combining oscillating and undulatory motions of flexible surfaces. We are interested in studying the unsteady hydrodynamics of such motions to understand and model the wake structure. Experiments have been conducted on flapping flexible membranes, flapping rigid plates, and mechanical models of manta rays. Preliminary observations suggest a rich set of phenomena exist, depending on the non-dimensional frequency of flapping, the wavelength of the excitation, and the aspect ratio of the fin. Under certain conditions, simple wake structures are observed that bear a strong resemblance to the structure of co-flowing jets and wakes. In other cases, bifurcating wakes are seen, which appear to correspond to a decrease in efficiency. The performance of active and passive actuation methods is also explored.  April 2011 Robert Wood of Harvard University will be presenting the lecture "Progress in Insect-Scale Robots" on Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 4pm in 540 Cory Hall. The seminar is co-sponsored by the EECS RESS Seminar Series. Click here for additional information.   Left photo: Trainee lunch with Rob Wood; Right photo: Rob Wood RESS presentation. November 2010  Russ Tedrake of MIT will be presenting the lecture "Feedback Motion Planning with Sum-of-Squares Verification (w/ applications to Walking Robots and Robotic Birds)" on Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 4:00pm in 306 Soda Hall (HP Auditorium). This seminar is co-sponsored by the EECS Joint Colloquium Distinguished Lecture Series. Click here for additional information.   Left photo: Russ Tedrake presenting seminar; Right photo: Trainee lunch with Russ Tedrake August 2010  Steven Vogel of Duke University will be presenting the lecture "Bear Bones and Ferrous Wheels: When Might Nature be Worth Copying?" on Thursday, August 26, 2010. Click here to download the flier. November 2009 |
