Journal
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
Volume 214, Issue 5, Pages 703-708Publisher
COMPANY BIOLOGISTS LTD
DOI: 10.1242/jeb.051144
Keywords
force-measuring array (FMA); 3D reaction force; force platform; gecko
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Funding
- National High Technology Research and Development Program of China [2007AA04Z201]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [60910007, 50635030]
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Measuring the interaction between each foot of an animal and the substrate is one of the most effective ways to understand the dynamics of legged locomotion. Here, a new facility - the force-measuring array (FMA) - was developed and applied to measure 3D reaction forces of geckos on different slope surfaces. The FMA consists of 16 3D sensors with resolution to the mN level. At the same time the locomotion behaviour of geckos freely moving on the FMA was recorded by high speed camera. The reaction forces acting on the gecko's individual feet measured by the FMA and correlated with locomotion behaviour provided enough information to reveal the mechanical and dynamic secrets of gecko locomotion. Moreover, dynamic forces were also measured by a force platform and correlated with locomotion behaviour. The difference between the forces measured by the two methods is discussed. From the results we conclude that FMA is the best way to obtain true reaction forces acting on the gecko's individual feet.
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