I will discuss joint work with John Schmitt, Raffaele Ghigliazza, Justin Seipel, Raghavendra Kukillaya, Bob Full and Dan Koditschek, in which nonlinear mechanics and hybrid dynamical systems meet biology. Motivated by Full's experimental studies of running insects at UC Berkeley, we propose a hierarchy of models for the dynamics of legged locomotion. We start with energetically conservative bipedal models (each leg corresponding to the front/rear/opposite-middle stance tripod used by many insect species), move on to activated hexapedal models, and end by describing a central pattern generator of bursting neurons linked via simplified muscles to more realistic leg geometries. I believe that massive, detail-packed simulations do not necessarily confer understanding, and in reviewing our work, I shall stress the relevance of simple models.

Talk is sponsored by the Univ. of Delaware Chapter is SIAM.