Ants Behaviors Exhibit Stokesian Qualities

Brian Bittner, Glenna Clifton, Dan Zhao, Nick Gravish, Shai Revzen

IROS (Workshop), 2020

Abstract

Legged locomotion, the most prevalent mode of terrestrial locomotion, involves the frequent making and breaking of contacts. These discrete events can make it challenging to have simple yet descriptive behavioral models. Motions that exhibit continuous con- tact often result in simpler representations. Such is the case for slithering systems like snakes. For these systems, analysis via observation and resistive force theory shows that frictional forces dominate those caused by inertia, constraining the motion to Stokesian behavior. In our studies, we have found through qualitative and quanti- tative descriptors that ants, despite their fundamentally hybrid qualities, function as dynamical analogues to the friction dominated behaviors of continuous Stokesian movers.

BibTeX

@conference{Bittner-2020-IROS-wkshp,
  author = {Bittner, Brian and Clifton, Glenna and Zhao, Dan and Gravish, Nick and Revzen, Shai},
  title = {Ants Behaviors Exhibit Stokesian Qualities},
  booktitle = {IROS (Workshop)},
  year = {2020},
  month = jun,
  organization = {IEEE},
}