Biomimetic ratcheting motion of lubricated hydrogel filaments

Biomimetic ratcheting motion of lubricated hydrogel filaments

Biomimetic ratcheting motion of lubricated hydrogel filaments, Mahadevan, L., S. Daniel and M. Chaudhury,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) , 101, 23-26, 2004.
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Abstract

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.