[Tyler]

Caterpiller Guts Inspire Engineers
     






Unexpected movements within the abdomens of caterpillars are giving
scientists new ideas in locomotion engineering for soft-material robots.
 Using real-time X-Ray imaging, researchers
at Virginia Tech and Tufts found that the caterpillar's gut slid
forward in advance of the surrounding tissues.  These unexpected
interactions between internal and external structures offer
new efficiencies for motion which could lead to improvements in designs
for future robots needing to crawl in certain environments.

   

http://robots.net/article/3038.html