Limited research exists on the 3D geometric models and as a consequence the aerodynamic characteristics of the grey-headed albatross (GHA). Despite existing methods for extracting bird wing cross-sections, few studies consider deflections due to aerodynamic pressure. With the GHA known for its exceptional flight speed and purported wing-lock mechanism, it offers a valuable subject for studying fixed-wing aerodynamics in nature. This study aims to develop and validate a numerical approach to estimate the GHA's wing cross-section in flight. The PARSEC method is combined with a scanned 3D point cloud of a dried GHA wing to create a 3D model and analyse an averaged aerofoil section. Using a pseudo-2D computational fluid dynamics model, the study explores passive morphing of bird wings due to aerodynamic pressure. Results show that the aerofoil morphs to achieve maximum potential aerodynamic efficiency at a Reynolds number of , decreasing in camber. The maximum lift-to-drag ratio () increases from 3 to 44, primarily due to pressure drag reduction. However, the lack of comparison to true bird geometry in flight remains a limitation. Future research should compare the predicted morphing with actual bird specimens in flight.

Purpose-led Publishing is a coalition of three not-for-profit publishers in the field of physical sciences: AIP Publishing, the American Physical Society and IOP Publishing.
Together, as publishers that will always put purpose above profit, we have defined a set of industry standards that underpin high-quality, ethical scholarly communications.
We are proudly declaring that science is our only shareholder.
Could you publish open access in this journal at no cost?
Find out if your institution is participating in the transformative agreement with OhioLink to cover unlimited APC’s.
Find out how to take advantage

ISSN: 1748-3190
Bioinspiration & Biomimetics publishes research that discovers and uses principles from natural systems to create physical models, engineering systems and technological designs.
Alexander Ernest Winter et al 2025 Bioinspir. Biomim. 20 026020
Guanran Pei and Josie Hughes 2025 Bioinspir. Biomim. 20 026019
Due to the complexity of deformations in soft manipulators, achieving precise control of their orientation is particularly challenging, especially in the presence of external disturbances and human interactions. Inspired by the decentralized growth mechanism of plant gravitropism, which enables plants' roots and stems to grow in the direction of gravity despite complex environmental interactions, this study proposes a decentralized control strategy for robust orientation control of multi-segment soft manipulators. This gravitropism-inspired decentralized controller was validated through simulations for convergence and robustness, and benchmarked against the traditional inverse Jacobian-based controller on a large-scale multi-segment soft manipulator. Experimental results demonstrate that the decentralized controller achieves comparable convergence and better control precision to the inverse Jacobian-based controller, while significantly outperforming it in disturbance rejection. Even in the presence of partial damage and human interaction, the decentralized controller provides robust control. This study provides a robust new approach for managing disturbances in complex environments, laying the foundation for further exploration of decentralized control strategies in soft robotics.
Qinyan Zhou et al 2025 Bioinspir. Biomim. 20 026018
Earthworm-like robots have excellent locomotion capability in confined environments. Central pattern generator (CPG) based controllers utilize the dynamics of coupled nonlinear oscillators to spontaneously generate actuation signals for all segments, which offer significant merits over conventional locomotion control strategies. There are a number of oscillators that can be exploited for CPG control, while their performance in controlling peristaltic locomotion has not been systematically evaluated. To advance the state of the art, this study comprehensively evaluates the performance of four widely used nonlinear oscillators—Hopf, Van der Pol (VDP), Matsuoka, and Kuramoto—in controlling the planar locomotion of metameric earthworm-like robots. Specifically, the amplitude and phase characteristics of the continuous control signals used by the robot for achieving rectilinear, sidewinding, and arcuate locomotion are first summarized. On this basis, the sufficient parametric conditions for the four oscillator networks to generate the corresponding control signals are derived. Using a six-segment earthworm-like robot prototype as a platform, experiments confirm that the signals output by these oscillator networks can effectively control the robot to achieve the specified planar motion. Furthermore, the effects of the output signal waveforms of different oscillator networks on locomotion trajectories and performance metrics, as well as the effects of transient dynamics on the smoothness of gait transitions when the parameters are varied, are analyzed. The results demonstrate that their applicability varies in terms of locomotion efficiency, trajectory modulation, and smooth gait transitions. The Matsuoka oscillator lacks explicit rules for parameter modulation, the VDP oscillator is advantageous in enhancing the average speed and turning efficiency, and the Hopf and Kuramoto oscillators are advantageous in terms of smooth gait transition. These findings provide valuable insights into the selection of appropriate oscillators in CPG-based controllers and lay the foundation for future CPG-based adaptive control of earthworm-like robots in complex environments.
James Hand and Bryan Watson 2025 Bioinspir. Biomim. 20 026017
Resilience is a vital aspect of modern systems, especially in multi-agent systems, where faulted agents (agents who do not behave properly) can compromise system performance. In response to this need for resilience, we turn to biological inspiration. Eusocial insects are a subset of insects that have caste-based labor distribution and cooperative brood care. These insects face analogous challenges in maintaining and improving resilience to external threats, making them prime examples to find unique biological solutions to resilience problems. Thus, the central question of this work is: How can eusocial insect behavior be used to inspire new approaches to prevent or limit faulted agents from impacting the performance of multi-agent systems? Engineers, however, do not always have the necessary biological expertise to identify behaviors to mimic. This article seeks to fill the following identified gap in current research and resources: There is need to study the impact of biologically inspired behaviors on faulted agent resilience, but engineers may struggle to identify sources in the biological literature to translate into engineering applications. To address this question and the identified gap, we provide a guide identifying a large range of insect resilience behaviors and examples of possible implementation of these behaviors. This guide is a functional decomposition examining how eusocial insects prevent disease propagation that engineers can transfer to their systems when seeking to mitigate faulted agents. The presented functional decomposition is made of 148 identified functions across 7 levels, organized into 5 primary categories. This provides a guide for engineers to use when looking for sources of inspiration to improve system resilience. Additional discussion is also provided to offer potential implementations of these 148 functions, so as to encourage further work and usage of this work.
Reno Pangestu et al 2025 Bioinspir. Biomim. 20 026015
A transverse ledge brachiation robot is designed to move transversely along a ledge on a vertical wall by generating energy from the swinging motion of its lower limbs. This method reduces the force required by the upper limbs to propel the robot forward. However, previously developed robots often encounter a common issue: lateral posture deviation, which is typically caused by slippage when the grippers grasp the ledge. Without compensation, this deviation can increase the risk of falling during continuous brachiation cycles. To address this problem, we propose an active wrist joint mechanism utilizing a feedback control approach as the compensator to effectively correct gripper position deviations. In our robot design, we develop a motion control strategy that coordinates the upper and lower limbs in order to maintain the swing energy that can be transferred to the subsequent cycles. Then we propose a potential energy-based phase switching condition in the motion control strategy in order to simplify the computation process. Simulation results demonstrate that the optimized parameter for compensation effectively maintains the gripper's position relative to the ledge throughout 55 brachiation cycles. Furthermore, experiment validation shows that this posture compensation reduces deviation by one-third compared to results without compensation. This study has demonstrated a 68% improvement in energy consumption efficiency for continuous transverse brachiation compared to the previous generation, as well as a 37% improvement over transverse ricochetal brachiation locomotion.
Dongfu Ma et al 2024 Bioinspir. Biomim. 19 061001
Bird-like flapping-wing aerial vehicles (BFAVs) have attracted significant attention due to their advantages in endurance, range, and load capacity. For a long time, biologists have been studying the enigma of bird flight to understand its mechanism. In contrast, aviation designers focus more on bionic flight systems. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the development of BFAV design. The study aims to provide insights into building a flyable model from the perspective of aviation designers, focusing on the methods in the process of overall design, flapping wing design and drive system design. The review examines the annual progress of flight-capable BFAVs, analyzing changes in prototype size and performance over the years. Additionally, the paper highlights various applications of these vehicles. Furthermore, it discusses the challenges encountered in BFAV design and proposes several possible directions for future research, including perfecting design methods, improving component performance, and promoting practical application. This review will provide essential guidelines and insights for designing BFAVs with higher performance.
Stuart Burgess 2024 Bioinspir. Biomim. 19 051004
This paper broadly summarizes the variation of design features found in vertebrate limbs and analyses the resultant versatility and multifunctionality in order to make recommendations for bioinspired robotics. The vertebrate limb pattern (e.g. shoulder, elbow, wrist and digits) has been proven to be very successful in many different applications in the animal kingdom. However, the actual level of optimality of the limb for each animal application is not clear because for some cases (e.g. whale flippers and bird wings), the basic skeletal layout is assumed to be highly constrained by evolutionary ancestry. This paper addresses this important and fundamental question of optimality by analysing six limbs with contrasting functions: human arm, whale flipper, bird wing, human leg, feline hindlimb and frog hindlimb. A central finding of this study is that the vertebrate limb pattern is highly versatile and optimal not just for arms and legs but also for flippers and wings. One key design feature of the vertebrate limb pattern is that of networks of segmented bones that enable smooth morphing of shapes as well as multifunctioning structures. Another key design feature is that of linkage mechanisms that fine-tune motions and mechanical advantage. A total of 52 biomechanical design features of the vertebrate limb are identified and tabulated for these applications. These tables can be a helpful reference for designers of bioinspired robotic and prosthetic limbs. The vertebrate limb has significant potential for the bioinspired design of robotic and prosthetic limbs, especially because of progress in the development of soft actuators.
Jinsheng Zhao et al 2024 Bioinspir. Biomim. 19 051003
In the early twenty-first century, extensive research has been conducted on geckos' ability to climb vertical walls with the advancement of microscopy technology. Unprecedented studies and developments have focused on the adhesion mechanism, structural design, preparation methods, and applications of bioinspired dry adhesives. Notably, strong adhesion that adheres to both the principles of contact splitting and stress uniform distribution has been discovered and proposed. The increasing popularity of flexible electronic skins, soft crawling robots, and smart assembly systems has made switchable adhesion properties essential for smart adhesives. These adhesives are designed to be programmable and switchable in response to external stimuli such as magnetic fields, thermal changes, electrical signals, light exposure as well as mechanical processes. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the development history of bioinspired dry adhesives from achieving strong adhesion to realizing switchable adhesion.
Stan R R Baeten et al 2024 Bioinspir. Biomim. 19 051002
This review explores the present knowledge of the unique properties of shark skin and possible applications of its functionalities, including drag reduction and swimming efficiency. Tooth-like denticles, with varied morphologies, sizes, and densities across the shark's body, significantly influence the flow and interaction of fluids. Examining dermal denticle morphology, this study unveils the functional properties of real shark skin, including mechanical properties such as stiffness, stress–strain characteristics, and denticle density's impact on tensile properties. The adaptive capabilities of the Mako shark scales, especially in high-speed swimming, are explored, emphasizing their passive flow-actuated dynamic micro-roughness. This research contains an overview of various studies on real shark skin, categorizing them into skin properties, morphology, and hydrodynamics. The paper extends exploration into industrial applications, detailing fabrication techniques and potential uses in vessels, aircraft, and water pipes for friction reduction. Three manufacturing approaches, bio-replicated forming, direct fabrication, and indirect manufacturing, are examined, with 3D printing and photoconfiguration technology emerging as promising alternatives. Investigations into the mechanical properties of shark skin fabrics reveal the impact of denticle size on tensile strength, stress, and strain. Beyond drag reduction, the study highlights the shark skin's role in enhancing thrust and lift during locomotion. The paper identifies future research directions, emphasizing live shark testing and developing synthetic skin with the help of 3D printing incorporating the bristling effect.
José Cornejo et al 2024 Bioinspir. Biomim. 19 051001
This research presents a 10-year systematic review based on bibliometric analysis of the bio-inspired design of hard-bodied mobile robot mechatronic systems considering the anatomy of arthropods. These are the most diverse group of animals whose flexible biomechanics and adaptable morphology, thus, it can inspire robot development. Papers were reviewed from two international databases (Scopus and Web of Science) and one platform (Aerospace Research Central), then they were classified according to: Year of publication (January 2013 to April 2023), arthropod group, published journal, conference proceedings, editorial publisher, research teams, robot classification according to the name of arthropod, limb's locomotion support, number of legs/arms, number of legs/body segments, limb's degrees of freedom, mechanical actuation type, modular system, and environment adaptation. During the screening, more than 33 000 works were analyzed. Finally, a total of 174 studies (90 journal-type, 84 conference-type) were selected for in-depth study: Insecta—hexapods (53.8%), Arachnida—octopods (20.7%), Crustacea—decapods (16.1%), and Myriapoda—centipedes and millipedes (9.2%). The study reveals that the most active editorials are the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., Springer, MDPI, and Elsevier, while the most influential researchers are located in the USA, China, Singapore, and Japan. Most works pertained to spiders, crabs, caterpillars, cockroaches, and centipedes. We conclude that 'arthrobotics' research, which merges arthropods and robotics, is constantly growing and includes a high number of relevant studies with findings that can inspire new methods to design biomechatronic systems.
Hausdörfer et al
Animals have to navigate complex environments and perform intricate swimming maneuvers in the real world. To conquer these challenges, animals evolved a variety of motion control strategies. While it is known that many factors contribute to motion control, we specifically focus on the role of stretch sensory feedback. We investigate how stretch feedback potentially serves as a way to coordinate locomotion, and how different stretch feedback topologies, such as networks spanning varying ranges along the spinal cord, impact the locomotion. We conduct our studies on a simulated robot model of the lamprey consisting of an articulated spine with eleven segments connected by actuated joints. The stretch feedback is modeled with neural networks trained with deep reinforcement learning. We find that the topology of the feedback influences the energy efficiency and smoothness of the swimming, along with various other metrics characterizing the locomotion, such as frequency, amplitude and stride length. By analyzing the learned feedback networks, we highlight the importances of very local, caudally-directed, as well as stretch derivative information. Our results deliver valuable insights into the potential mechanisms and benefits of stretch feedback control and inspire novel decentralized control strategies for complex robots.
Haider et al
One of the most ancient and evolutionarily conserved behaviors in the animal kingdom involves utilizing wind-borne odor plumes to track essential elements such as food, mates, and predators. Insects, particularly flies, demonstrate a remarkable proficiency in this behavior, efficiently processing complex odor information encompassing concentrations, direction, and speed through their olfactory system, thereby facilitating effective odor-guided navigation. Recent years have witnessed substantial research explaining the impact of wing flexibility and kinematics on the aerodynamics and flow field physics governing the flight of insects. However, the relationship between the flow field and olfactory functions remains largely unexplored, presenting an attractive frontier with numerous intriguing questions. One such question pertains to whether flies intentionally manipulate the flow field around their antennae using their wing structure and kinematics to augment their olfactory capabilities. To address this question, we first reconstructed the wing kinematics based on high-speed video recordings of wing surface deformation. Subsequently, we simulated the unsteady flow field and odorant transport during the forward flight of blue bottle flies (Calliphora vomitoria) by solving the Navier–Stokes equations and odorant advection-diffusion equations using an in-house computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver. Our simulation results demonstrated that flexible wings generated greater cycle-averaged aerodynamic forces compared to purely rigid flapping wings, underscoring the aerodynamic advantages of wing flexibility. Additionally, flexible wings produced 25% greater odor intensity, enhancing the insect's ability to detect and interpret olfactory cues. This study not only advances our understanding of the intricate interplay between wing motion, aerodynamics, and olfactory capabilities in flying insects but also raises intriguing questions about the intentional modulation of flow fields for sensory purposes in other behaviors.
Simovic Pavlovic et al
Natural photonic structures allow us to reveal and mold the thermophoretic effect at the nanoscale within condensed matter systems. In this paper, for the first time, holography has been exploited to disclose conditions that determine the strength and dynamics of the thermophoretic effect. We experimentally revealed the link between geometry and nano-corrugation of biological structures that shapes the power of thermophoresis. The presented study opens enormous possibilities for harnessing thermophoretic effect in various bioinspired sensing applications uniquely merging the fields of photonics and mechanics.
Cheng et al
Bionic flapping wing robots achieve flight by imitating animal flapping wings, which are safe, flexible, and efficient. Their practicality and human-machine symbiosis in narrow and complex environments are better than those of traditional fixed-wing or multirotor drones, which shows a broader application prospect. By systematic and biomimetic methods, a bionic dragonfly robot with four independent drive flapping wings, called DFly-I, was designed. First of all, the mechanical structure of the robot was introduced, especially the fluttering structure and the wing structure. Then, a new motion controller based on multi-channel field-oriented control (FOC) is proposed for its motion mechanism, which relies on four sets of brushless DC motors (BLDCs) based on FOC control and four sets of servos to achieve independent control of the flapping speed, rhythm, and angle of four flapping wings. In addition, the system model is analyzed, and on this basis, the robot motion and posture control are realized by an proportional-integral-derivative and active disturbance rejection (PID-ADRC) based controller. Lastly, a physical prototype was made, and the system was feasible through flight experiments in indoor venues.
Amini et al
Human gait simulation plays a crucial role in providing insights into various aspects of locomotion, such as diagnosing injuries and impairments, assessing abnormal gait patterns, and developing assistive and rehabilitation technologies. To achieve more realistic gait simulation results, it's essential to use a comprehensive model that accurately replicates the kinematics and kinetics of human movement. The human skeletal models in OpenSim software provide anatomically accurate and anthropomorphic structures, enabling users to create personalized models that accurately replicate individual human behavior. However, these torque-driven models encounter challenges in stabilizing unactuated degrees of freedom of pelvis tilt during forward dynamic simulations. Adopting a bio-inspired strategy that ensures human balance with a minimized energy expenditure during walking, this paper addresses a gait controller for a torque-deriven human skeletal model to achieve a stable walking. The proposed controller employs a nonlinear model-based approach to calculate a balance-equivalent control torque and utilizes the hip-ankle strategy to distribute this torque across the lower-limb joints during the stance phase. To optimize the parameters of the trajectory tracking controller and the balance distribution coefficients, we used a forward dynamic simulation interface established between MATLAB and OpenSim. The simulation results show that the torque-driven model achieves a natural gait, with joint torques closely aligning with the experimental data. The robustness of the bio-inspired gait controller is also assessed by applying a range of external forces on the skeletal model to investigate its response to disturbances. The robustness analysis demonstrates the quick and effective balance recovery mechanism of the proposed bio-inspired gait controller.
Guanran Pei and Josie Hughes 2025 Bioinspir. Biomim. 20 026019
Due to the complexity of deformations in soft manipulators, achieving precise control of their orientation is particularly challenging, especially in the presence of external disturbances and human interactions. Inspired by the decentralized growth mechanism of plant gravitropism, which enables plants' roots and stems to grow in the direction of gravity despite complex environmental interactions, this study proposes a decentralized control strategy for robust orientation control of multi-segment soft manipulators. This gravitropism-inspired decentralized controller was validated through simulations for convergence and robustness, and benchmarked against the traditional inverse Jacobian-based controller on a large-scale multi-segment soft manipulator. Experimental results demonstrate that the decentralized controller achieves comparable convergence and better control precision to the inverse Jacobian-based controller, while significantly outperforming it in disturbance rejection. Even in the presence of partial damage and human interaction, the decentralized controller provides robust control. This study provides a robust new approach for managing disturbances in complex environments, laying the foundation for further exploration of decentralized control strategies in soft robotics.
Oliver Hausdörfer et al 2025 Bioinspir. Biomim.
Animals have to navigate complex environments and perform intricate swimming maneuvers in the real world. To conquer these challenges, animals evolved a variety of motion control strategies. While it is known that many factors contribute to motion control, we specifically focus on the role of stretch sensory feedback. We investigate how stretch feedback potentially serves as a way to coordinate locomotion, and how different stretch feedback topologies, such as networks spanning varying ranges along the spinal cord, impact the locomotion. We conduct our studies on a simulated robot model of the lamprey consisting of an articulated spine with eleven segments connected by actuated joints. The stretch feedback is modeled with neural networks trained with deep reinforcement learning. We find that the topology of the feedback influences the energy efficiency and smoothness of the swimming, along with various other metrics characterizing the locomotion, such as frequency, amplitude and stride length. By analyzing the learned feedback networks, we highlight the importances of very local, caudally-directed, as well as stretch derivative information. Our results deliver valuable insights into the potential mechanisms and benefits of stretch feedback control and inspire novel decentralized control strategies for complex robots.
Naeem Haider et al 2025 Bioinspir. Biomim.
One of the most ancient and evolutionarily conserved behaviors in the animal kingdom involves utilizing wind-borne odor plumes to track essential elements such as food, mates, and predators. Insects, particularly flies, demonstrate a remarkable proficiency in this behavior, efficiently processing complex odor information encompassing concentrations, direction, and speed through their olfactory system, thereby facilitating effective odor-guided navigation. Recent years have witnessed substantial research explaining the impact of wing flexibility and kinematics on the aerodynamics and flow field physics governing the flight of insects. However, the relationship between the flow field and olfactory functions remains largely unexplored, presenting an attractive frontier with numerous intriguing questions. One such question pertains to whether flies intentionally manipulate the flow field around their antennae using their wing structure and kinematics to augment their olfactory capabilities. To address this question, we first reconstructed the wing kinematics based on high-speed video recordings of wing surface deformation. Subsequently, we simulated the unsteady flow field and odorant transport during the forward flight of blue bottle flies (Calliphora vomitoria) by solving the Navier–Stokes equations and odorant advection-diffusion equations using an in-house computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver. Our simulation results demonstrated that flexible wings generated greater cycle-averaged aerodynamic forces compared to purely rigid flapping wings, underscoring the aerodynamic advantages of wing flexibility. Additionally, flexible wings produced 25% greater odor intensity, enhancing the insect's ability to detect and interpret olfactory cues. This study not only advances our understanding of the intricate interplay between wing motion, aerodynamics, and olfactory capabilities in flying insects but also raises intriguing questions about the intentional modulation of flow fields for sensory purposes in other behaviors.
Reno Pangestu et al 2025 Bioinspir. Biomim. 20 026015
A transverse ledge brachiation robot is designed to move transversely along a ledge on a vertical wall by generating energy from the swinging motion of its lower limbs. This method reduces the force required by the upper limbs to propel the robot forward. However, previously developed robots often encounter a common issue: lateral posture deviation, which is typically caused by slippage when the grippers grasp the ledge. Without compensation, this deviation can increase the risk of falling during continuous brachiation cycles. To address this problem, we propose an active wrist joint mechanism utilizing a feedback control approach as the compensator to effectively correct gripper position deviations. In our robot design, we develop a motion control strategy that coordinates the upper and lower limbs in order to maintain the swing energy that can be transferred to the subsequent cycles. Then we propose a potential energy-based phase switching condition in the motion control strategy in order to simplify the computation process. Simulation results demonstrate that the optimized parameter for compensation effectively maintains the gripper's position relative to the ledge throughout 55 brachiation cycles. Furthermore, experiment validation shows that this posture compensation reduces deviation by one-third compared to results without compensation. This study has demonstrated a 68% improvement in energy consumption efficiency for continuous transverse brachiation compared to the previous generation, as well as a 37% improvement over transverse ricochetal brachiation locomotion.
Jindong Zhang et al 2025 Bioinspir. Biomim. 20 026014
Biomimetics as the transdisciplinary field leveraging biologically inspired solutions for technical and practical challenges has gained traction in recent decades. Despite its potential for innovation, the complexity of its process requires a deeper understanding of underlying tasks, leading to the development of various tools to aid this process. This study identified an inventory of 104 tools used in biomimetics, of which 24 have been classified as fully accessible, functional, and ready-to-use biomimetic tools. Additionally, it provides definitions and evaluation criteria for biomimetic tools, offering a structured approach to tool assessment. The 24 tools have been assessed based on ten criteria in a qualitative and quantitative analysis yielding an overview of their typology, accessibility, stage of development, and other key characteristics. Patterns of the typology development of tools over time revealed a trend towards integrating computational methods and artificial intelligence, thereby enhancing the tool's functionality and user engagement. However, gaps in tool functionality and maturity, such as the lack of tools designed to support technical processes, the absence of tools tailored for solution-based approaches, and insufficient evidence of successful tool application, highlight areas for future research. The study results underscore the need for empirical validation of tools, and research into the effectiveness of holistic tools covering multiple stages of the biomimetic process. By addressing these gaps and leveraging existing strengths, the field of biomimetics can continue to advance, providing innovative solutions inspired by biological models.
Wenshuo Gao and Zhiwei Tian 2025 Bioinspir. Biomim. 20 026010
Among the components of a humanoid robot, a humanoid torso plays a vital role in supporting a humanoid robot to complete the desired motions. In this paper, a new LARMbot torso is developed to obtain better working performance based on biological features. By analyzing the anatomy of a human torso and spine, a parallel cable-driven mechanism is proposed to actuate the whole structure using two servo motors and two pulleys. Analysis is conducted to evaluate the properties of the proposed parallel cable-driven mechanism. A closed-loop control system is applied to control the whole LARMbot torso. Experiments are performed using the manufactured prototype in three modes to evaluate the characterizations of the proposed design. Results show that the proposed LARMbot can complete the desired motions properly, including two general human-like motions and a full rotation motion. When completing two general human-like motions, the maximum bending angle is 40 degrees. The maximum cable tension is 0.68 N, and the maximum required power is 18.3 W. In full rotation motion, the maximum bending angle is 30 degrees. The maximum cable tension is 0.75 N, and the maximum power required is 20.5 W. The proposed design is simplified and lightweight, with low energy consumption and flexible spatial motion performance that can meet the requirements of the humanoid robot torso's application in complex scenarios and commercial requirements.
Zixuan Li et al 2025 Bioinspir. Biomim. 20 026004
Flying insects have developed two distinct adaptive strategies to minimize wing damage during collisions. One strategy includes an elastic joint at the leading edge, which is evident in wasps and beetles, while another strategy features an adaptive and deformable leading edge, as seen in bumblebees and honeybees. Inspired by the latter, a novel approach has been developed for improving collision recovery in micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) by mimicking the principle of stiffness anisotropy present in the leading edges of these insects. This study introduces a passive, flexible, folding wing design with adaptive leading edges. The impact of these adaptive folding leading edges on the flight performance of flapping-wing MAVs was systematically evaluated. Variations in lift generation and obstacle-crossing capabilities between rigid wings and adaptive deformable wings were quantified. Additionally, the mechanical stiffness of the wings was assessed to validate their functional effectiveness. The proposed mechanism was incorporated into the wings of a dual-layer flapping-wing robot, which demonstrated successful flight recovery after collision. The experimental results indicate that a robot with a 30 cm wingspan can effectively traverse a gap of 16.2 cm during flight, thereby demonstrating its enhanced ability to overcome collision challenges. These findings underscore the potential of adaptive wing designs in enhancing the resilience and performance of MAVs in dynamic environments.
Ophelia Bolmin et al 2025 Bioinspir. Biomim.
Interlocking metasurfaces (ILMs) are patterned arrays of mating features that enable the joining of bodies by constraining motion and transmitting force. They offer an alternative to traditional joining solutions such as mechanical fasteners, welds, and adhesives. This study explores the development of bio-inspired ILMs using a problem-driven bioinspired design (BID) framework. We develop a taxonomy of attachment solutions that considers both biological and engineered systems and derive conventional design principles for ILM design. We develop two engineering implementations to demonstrate concept development using the taxonomy and ILM conventional design principle through the BID framework: one for rapidly assembled bridge truss members and another for modular microrobots. These implementations highlight the potential of BID to enhance performance, functionality, and tunability in ILMs.
Arne Bruns et al 2025 Bioinspir. Biomim. 20 016028
The propulsive fins of ray-finned fish are used for large scale locomotion and fine maneuvering, yet also provide sensory feedback regarding hydrodynamic loading and the surrounding environment. This information is gathered via nerve cells in the webbing between their fin rays. A similar bioinspired system that can gather force feedback from fin motion could enable valuable insight into robotic underwater locomotion improving swimming efficiency and orientation. Fins are largely composed of bendable rays that support an elastic membranous web. In this investigation we have produced a stretch-sensing web that can be used as a sensor for a robotic fin; a proprioceptive fin webbing capable of measuring hydrodynamic loads. Our soft capacitive sensor web is embedded in 350 µm thin film that is held between wires which emulate fin rays. These sensor web constructs were successfully tested in water tunnels and maintained their sensory performance at speeds up to 0.7 m s−1 and at angles-of-attack up to 90 degrees. We demonstrated sensor response as a function of water speed and angle of attack. Induced vibrations in the membrane from vortex shedding and flutter at high speeds were mitigated through the addition of passive chordwise stiffeners and tensioning of the membrane was investigated. Through understanding sensing membrane behavior in flow, the development of specialized fin webbing sensors becomes possible. This invention thus presents a milestone in advanced hydrodynamic sensing in fish robots enabling us to push further towards autonomous control loops in fish robots.
Braden Cote et al 2025 Bioinspir. Biomim. 20 014001
Flying insects have a robust flight system that allows them to fly even when their forewings are damaged. The insect must adjust wingbeat kinematics to aerodynamically compensate for the loss of wing area. However, the mechanisms that allow insects with asynchronous flight muscle to adapt to wing damage are not well understood. Here, we investigated the phase and amplitude relationships between thorax deformation and flapping angle in tethered flying bumblebees subject to wing clipping and weighting. We used synchronized laser vibrometry and high-speed videography to measure thorax deformation and flapping angle, respectively. We found that changes in wing inertia did not affect thorax deformation amplitude but did influence wingbeat frequency. Increasing wing inertia increased flapping amplitude and caused a phase lag between thorax deformation and flapping angle, whereas decreasing wing inertia did not affect flapping amplitude and caused the flapping angle to lead thorax deformation. Our findings indicate that bumblebees adapt to wing damage by adjusting their wingbeat frequency rather than altering their wing stroke amplitude. Additionally, our results suggest that bumblebees operate near a wing-hinge-dominated resonant frequency, and that moments generated by steering muscles within the wing hinge influence the phase between thorax deformation and wing stroke nontrivially. These insights can inform the design of resilient, insect-inspired flapping-wing micro air vehicles.