Locomotor kinematics of the gecko(Tokay gecko) upon challenge with various inclines  

作　　者：Zhou-Yi Wang Ai-Hong Ji Thomas Endlein Wei Li Diana Samuel Zhen-Dong Dai 

机构地区：[1]Institute of Bio-inspired Structure and Surface Engineering,Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics [2]Centre for Cell Engineering, Joseph Black Building,Glasgow University

出　　处：《Chinese Science Bulletin》2014年第33期4568-4577,共10页

基　　金：supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(61175105 and 61161120323);the Doctoral Fund of Ministry of Education of China(20123218110031);the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(CXZZ11_0198 and BCXJ10_10)

摘　　要：Tokay geckos are skillful climbers and are able to negotiate difficult terrain such as steep slopes and overhanging inclines without losing their foothold. Here,we present data on the changes in locomotor kinematics when geckos are challenged to walk on various inclined surfaces. We trained individual geckos to move along a platform which can be tilted to simulate different slopes.The animals were filmed using a high-speed video camera.The results showed that their speed decreased with increasing slope angle, and their speed on the steep and inverted slopes(sloped angle >60°) decreased at a faster rate than on the shallow slopes(sloped angle<60°). The geckos' stride length was much greater on the shallow slopes compared to the inverted slopes. The influence of stride length and stride frequency on speed was different when the geckos moved across different slopes. There are significant differences duty factor, which varied from 0.54 when wall climbing(90° slope) to 0.84 when walking on the ceiling(180° slope). The mechanisms revealed this study will improve our understanding of control strategies in kinematics and inspire the design of robots with greater mobility.Tokay geckos are skillful climbers and are able to negotiate difficult terrain such as steep slopes and overhanging inclines without losing their foothold. Here, we present data on the changes in locomotor kinematics when geckos are challenged to walk on various inclined surfaces. We trained individual geckos to move along a platform which can be tilted to simulate different slopes. The animals were filmed using a high-speed video camera. The results showed that their speed decreased with increasing slope angle, and their speed on the steep and inverted slopes （sloped angle 〉60~） decreased at a faster rate than on the shallow slopes （sloped angle 〈60~）. The geckos＇ stride length was much greater on the shallow slopes compared to the inverted slopes. The influence of stride length and stride frequency on speed was different when the geckos moved across different slopes. There are significant differences duty factor, which varied from 0.54 when wall climbing （90° slope） to 0.84 when walking on the ceiling （180° slope）. The mechanisms revealed this study will improve our understanding of control strategies in kinematics and inspire the design of robots with greater mobility.

关 键 词：运动数据 大壁虎 倾斜角度 高速摄像机 速度比 占空因数 控制策略 坡度 

分 类 号：Q958[生物学—动物学]