Insects use ‘clever biomechanical tricks’ say researchers
from the University of Leicester
Neurobiologists from the University of Leicester have shown
that insect limbs can move without muscles – a finding that may provide
engineers with new ways to improve the control of robotic and prosthetic limbs.
Their work helps to explain how insects control their
movements using a close interplay of neuronal control and ‘clever biomechanical
tricks,’ says lead researcher Dr Tom Matheson, a Reader in Neurobiology at the
University of Leicester.
In a study published today in the journal Current Biology,
the researchers show that the structure of some insect leg joints causes the
legs to move even in the absence of muscles. So-called ‘passive joint forces’
serve to return the limb back towards a preferred resting position.