Our next Lunch & Learn will be held Thursday, February 27, in Howey N201/N202. Lunch will be served at 12:00 noon followed by a talk from 12:30 to 1:30 pm.
The speaker for this event will be Yaqing Wang from the Sponberg Lab.
Title: Biological and Robotic Studies towards Physical Interaction with complex Terrain
Abstract: Terrestrial animals navigate complex terrain by physically interacting with obstacles, whereas legged robots struggle due to a lack of a fundamental framework for such interactions. Prior work in Dr. Chen Li’s lab at JHU introduced potential energy landscape modeling to explain and predict biological and robotic locomotor transitions—a key factor in understanding obstacle interactions. Here, Yaqing Wang presents his Ph.D. research on cockroaches and a bio-inspired robot traversing grass-like obstacles. His study highlights the role of appendage adjustments and force sensing and proposes a control algorithm for autonomous mode transitions. This work advances understanding of animal locomotion and enhances robotic mobility in complex environments.
