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Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Member Symposium

Clickbait: Click Beetles and Wireworms (Coleoptera: Elateridae) as Inspiration

When engineers and entomologists just click: A click beetle inspired robotic model organism

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

4:44 PM – 4:56 PM PT

Location: Vancouver Convention Centre, Meeting Room 204

Presenting Author(s)

Marianne Alleyne

Assistant Professor
University of Illinois
Champaign, Illinois

Co-Author(s)

TM

Teagan Mathur

Princeton University
LZ

Liyuan Zhang

University of Illinois
YC

Yuhe Cui

University of Illinois
OB

Ophelia Bolmin

University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
Joshua Caleb Gibson

University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
AW

Aimy Wissa

Assistant professor
Princeton University
Princeton, New Jersey

Click beetles exhibit an ultrafast movement that results in a legless jump when the beetle is unconstrained. This movement is possible due to a system of latches and springs in its thoracic hinge. In this work, we present the development of a robotic model organism (RMO) inspired by the click beetle. The RMO will be used to test biological hypotheses related to the beetle morphology, hinge geometry, and the power transfer within the beetle. Different analytic techniques will be used to predict and measure the power transfer across a wide range of parameters extending beyond those observed in nature to inform the guided design of novel robotic systems.