Caterpillars
Caterpillars go to great lengths to protect themselves against being eaten before they have the chance to complete metamorphosis. These defense tactics have a lot to teach us about our own robotic designs and species control.
Biomimetic Designs
Ultra-fast Robotic Reflexes:
The GoQBot not only aims to mimic the way in which certain caterpillars roll out of dangerous situations, it goes so far as to create a revolutionary soft-body robot. The soft body is especially valuable when trying to fit the robot into flexible spaces. This could include camera robots that can wiggle between earthquake debris on rescue missions, or even microscopic, intravenous robots used for medicine.
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Animal Decoys:
From scarecrows to predator-call simulators, humans have employed fake predators to scare away cumbersome species for years. Even the Barrett Honors complex at ASU has a decoy predatory bird to deter pigeons. Nature's own biomimicry can be credited for natural species control in cities, as well as saving farmers' crops from hungry birds and animals. Animal decoys are now even acting as undercover animals to help track down poachers.
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The Science Behind Caterpillars
During the adolescence of caterpillars, they have to employ any defense tactic available to ensure they reach metamorphosis. As a method of quickly escaping predators, caterpillars can curl into a wheel and generate their own rolling momentum, all within 100 milliseconds. Once they get going, the velocity can exceed "0.2 m s−1, making it one of the fastest self-propelled wheeling behaviors in nature." They are able to produce this momentum by contracting muscles on the end of their body where they detect danger, while anchoring their anal prolegs temporarily.
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Some caterpillars are a little more creative than the typical 'fight or flight'. Hawk Moth caterpillars are especially interesting for their own use of biomimicry in their defense mechanisms. The tail-end of the caterpillars have developed to look more like the heads of snakes than anything. Not only that, but when threatened, the caterpillar will even lift its hind legs and swivel, mimicking a snake's natural movement. As extra deterrence, it has even been found to strike at potential predators if they get too close, even though the attack is all for show.
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