Institute of Bio-Inspired Structure and Surface Engineering, College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 29 Yudao Street, 210016, Nanjing, China.
Institute of Bio-Inspired Structure and Surface Engineering, College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 29 Yudao Street, 210016, Nanjing, China.
Zoology (Jena). 2020 Jun;140:125768. doi: 10.1016/j.zool.2020.125768. Epub 2020 Apr 9.
Geckos are exceptional at terrestrial locomotion and can move on diverse terrains and surface orientations. Geckos employ cyclical lateral bending of their flexible trunk and tail to coordinate their limb movements. In this study, using an optical motion capture system, we measured the kinematics of this lateral undulation pattern of geckos (Gekko gecko) at increasing locomotion velocity on horizontal plane, 45° inclined plane and vertical plane, respectively. We observed that geckos increased their stride frequency and stride length to increase the locomotion velocity; the effect of stride frequency on the locomotion velocity was greater than that of stride length. With increasing speed, the lateral undulation pattern changed from standing to travelling. The waveform of the trunk movement appeared as single-peak curves in a standing wave at low speeds and was propagated from head to tail in a travelling wave at high speeds. Analysis of the anatomical characteristics and axial angular kinematics of the two patterns revealed that the lateral undulation pattern results from girdle rotation and axial muscle activity. Thus, the travelling wave is the combined effect of the lateral trunk bending and deflection of the body relative to the motion direction.
壁虎在陆地运动方面表现出色，可以在各种地形和表面方向上移动。壁虎通过周期性地弯曲其灵活的躯干和尾巴来协调四肢的运动。在这项研究中，我们使用光学运动捕捉系统，分别在水平、45°倾斜和垂直平面上，测量了壁虎（Gekko gecko）在增加运动速度时的侧向波动模式的运动学。我们观察到，壁虎通过增加步频和步长来提高运动速度；步频对运动速度的影响大于步长。随着速度的增加，侧向波动模式从站立到移动发生变化。在低速时，躯干运动的波形呈单峰曲线，呈驻波形式，而在高速时，波形则呈行波形式，从头部传播到尾部。对两种模式的解剖特征和轴向角运动学的分析表明，侧向波动模式是由腰带旋转和轴向肌肉活动引起的。因此，行波是躯干侧向弯曲和身体相对于运动方向的偏折的综合效果。
