Intermittent locomotion as an optimal control strategy

Intermittent locomotion as an optimal control strategy

Intermittent locomotion as an optimal control strategy P. Paoletti and L. Mahadevan,  Proceedings of the Royal Society (A) , 470, 20130535, 2014.
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Abstract

Birds, fish and other animals routinely use unsteady
effects to save energy by alternating between phases
of active propulsion and passive coasting. Here,
we construct a minimal model for such behaviour
that can be couched as an optimal control problem
via an analogy to travelling with a rechargeable
battery. An analytical solution of the optimal control
problem proves that intermittent locomotion has
lower energy requirements relative to steady-state
strategies. Additional realistic hypotheses, such as
the assumption that metabolic cost at a given power
should be minimal (the fixed gear hypothesis),
a nonlinear dependence of the energy storage
rate on propulsion and/or a preferred average
speed, allow us to generalize the model and
demonstrate the flexibility of intermittent locomotion
with implications for biological and artificial systems.