Search Results (5)

Articulated tracked robots (ATRs) equipped with dual active flippers are widely used due to their ability to climb over complex obstacles like animals with legs. This paper presents a novel planning framework designed to empower ATRs with the capability of autonomously generating global paths that integrate obstacle-crossing maneuvers in complex terrains. This advancement effectively mitigates the issue of excessive dependence on remote human control, thereby enhancing the operational efficiency and adaptability of ATRs in challenging environments. The framework consists of three core components. First, a lightweight DeepLab V3+ architecture augmented with an edge-aware module is used for real-time semantic segmentation of elevation maps. Second, a simplified model of the robot-terrain contact is constructed to rapidly calculate the robot’s pose at map sampling points through contact point traversal. Finally, based on rapidly-exploring random trees, the cost of flipper motion smoothness is incorporated into the search process, achieving collaborative planning of passable paths and flipper maneuvers in obstacle-crossing scenarios. The framework was tested on our Crawler robot, which can quickly and accurately identify flat areas, obstacle-crossing areas, and impassable areas, avoiding redundant planning in non-obstacle areas. Compared to manually operated remote control, the planned path demonstrated shorter travel time, better stability, and lower flipper energy expenditure. This framework offers substantial practical value for autonomous navigation in demanding environments. Full article

Bioinspired morphing offers a powerful route to higher aerodynamic and hydrodynamic efficiency. Birds reposition feathers, bats extend compliant membrane wings, and fish modulate fin stiffness, tailoring lift, drag, and thrust in real time. To capture these advantages, engineers are developing airfoils, rotor blades, and hydrofoils that actively change shape, reducing drag, improving maneuverability, and harvesting energy from unsteady flows. This review surveys over 296 studies, with primary emphasis on literature published between 2015 and 2025, distilling four biological archetypes—avian wing morphing, bat-wing elasticity, fish-fin compliance, and tubercled marine flippers—and tracing their translation into morphing aircraft, ornithopters, rotorcraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and tidal or wave-energy converters. We compare experimental demonstrations and numerical simulations, identify consensus performance gains (up to 30% increase in lift-to-drag ratio, 4 dB noise reduction, and 15% boost in propulsive or power-capture efficiency), and analyze materials, actuation, control strategies, certification, and durability as the main barriers to deployment. Advances in multifunctional composites, electroactive polymers, and model-based adaptive control have moved prototypes from laboratory proof-of-concept toward field testing. Continued collaboration among biology, materials science, control engineering, and fluid dynamics is essential to unlock robust, scalable morphing technologies that meet future efficiency and sustainability targets. Full article

Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) is a major pest worldwide, causing damage to a vast range of plants through its feeding on phloem sap and its vectoring of >100 plant viruses. Although not established in the UK, it is regularly introduced on planting material, which poses a significant plant health risk. Restrictions on pesticide use and increasing resistance to available active ingredients limit options for effective control of potential outbreaks. Alternative management options are required to mitigate this risk. There was high variability in the efficacy of the different modes of action products tested against two life stages (adults and larvae) as well as the Middle East–Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) and Mediterranean (MED) cryptic species of B. tabaci. For both adults and larvae, MEAM1 were more susceptible than MED insects, possibly due to differences in resistance developed against some active ingredients. All products tested were effective to varying degrees against MEAM1 adults with Tracer (spinosad), PREV-AM (orange oil), Sequoia (sulfoxaflor), and FLiPPER (fatty acids) having similar efficacies (59–78% mortality). In contrast, PREV-AM and FLiPPER were most effective against MED adults (74% and 65% mortalities, respectively). Both MED and MEAM1 larvae were highly susceptible to FLiPPER and PREV-AM (>95% mortality), and the efficacy of Tracer and FLiPPER can be enhanced by using in combination with PREV-AM, and this can be achieved by using low doses of each product. Synergy was measured between PREV-AM and Tracer against MEAM1 larvae, which has the potential to provide effective control with a reduced pesticide application. Full article

As people’s focus broadens from animals on farms to zoos and aquaria, the field of welfare science and the public’s concern for animal welfare continue to grow. In captive animals, stress and its causes are topics of interest in welfare issues, and the identification of an objective method that can be used to assess animals’ stress as a physiological state is essential. Both behavioral and physiological parameters can be used as indicators in order to assess animal stress quantitatively. To validate this approach, acoustic activity and the sloughed scrape skin cortisol concentration were used to evaluate the animal welfare of captive beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). The acoustic activity (5 min at 10:00 am) of three captive D. leucas was routinely recorded by a transducer and analyzed using audio editing software. The calls were separated into three main categories: whistles, pulses, and combo calls. The sloughed scrape skin samples were collected non-invasively once a week from all three animals’ fluke and/or flipper. Cortisol was extracted using a modified skin steroid extraction technique, and detected via commercially available enzyme immunoassays. The results showed that the cortisol concentration increased by varying levels when the whales encountered the same event. In addition, the number and distribution of the calls changed along with the events. This indicated that the changes in the cortisol concentration and acoustic behavior may have reflected the fluctuations in the environment and body condition. Therefore, the scrape cortisol measurement and acoustic recordings could be used to monitor stress levels in captive beluga whales. We recommend that aquaria consider incorporating skin scrape cortisol and acoustic activity monitoring into their standards for animal welfare. Full article

The separate control method of flippers and the movement of the mass center makes the active articulated tracked robot unable to realize higher-level motion and difficult to adapt to rough and complex obstacle terrain. In this paper, a new design method of distributed autonomous obstacle traversal controller for the novel six-track robot is proposed. The controller establishes a unified control framework that includes all degrees of freedom of the robot so that the center of mass tracking error and flipper motion tracking error can converge simultaneously to achieve obstacle traversal independently of specific terrain or tasks. First, the forward kinematics model and differential kinematics model of tracked robot are established to generate 3D motion, including flipper angular velocity and body traction velocity. Then, the differential drive robot model is extended into the differential kinematic model to eliminate the slip effect during obstacle traversal. Finally, the feedback control law of the control system and the optimal solution for the singular position of the robot structure are established. In addition, several simulation experiments and physical prototype experiments in different obstacle terrains are executed. In the virtual simulation experiment, the average trajectory error of the flipper is about 0.029 m. In the physical prototype experiment, compared to the manual remote controller and the prior art controller, the average error norm of the center of mass is reduced by 40.7% and 13.5%, respectively; the maximum slip norm is reduced by 34.6% and 19.9%, respectively; and the obstacle crossing time is reduced by 21.3% and 9.3%, respectively, and they validate the accuracy and effectiveness of the designed controller. Full article