Achievement

CiBER IGERT biologists and engineers teamed up to design a novel legged robot with wings that not only aids in the design of the next generation of search-and-rescue robots, but also tests hypotheses of the origins of flight in animals. Researchers developed a hybrid robot that could run and flap its wings named DASH (Dynamic Autonomous Sprawled Hexapod) plus Wings. Flapping wings can increase running speed and stability, the maximum traversable incline, and aerial gliding ability. Enhanced mobility is essential if robots are to assist in the rubble created by tornados, earthquakes or explosions Engineering trainee Kevin Peterson collaborated with biologist, and IGERT Co-PI, Robert Dudley to investigate current theories on animal flight evolution. Experiments on the robot as a physical model supported the theory that flight evolved from arboreal origins.