Abstract
Antennae are the main organs of the arthropod tactile sense. In contrast to other senses that are capable of retrieving spatial information, e.g. vision, spatial sampling of tactile information requires active movement of the sense organ. For a quantitative analysis of basic principles of active tactile sensing, we use a generic model of arbitrary antennae with two hinge joints (revolute joints). This kind of antenna is typical for Orthoptera and Phasmatodea, i.e. insect orders that contain model species for the study of antennal movements, including cricket, locust and stick insect. First, we analyse the significance of morphological properties on workspace and sampling acuity. It is shown how joint axis orientation determines areas out of reach while affecting acuity in the areas within reach. Second, we assume a parametric set of movement strategies, based on empirical data on the stick insect Carausius morosus, and investigate the role of each strategy parameter on tactile sampling performance. A stochastic environment is used to measure sampling density, and a viscous friction model is assumed to introduce energy consumption and, thus, a measure of tactile efficiency. Up to a saturation level, sampling density is proportional to the range or frequency of joint angle modulation. The effect of phase shift is strong if joint angle modulation frequencies are equal, but diminishes for other frequency ratios. Speed of forward progression influences the optimal choice of movement strategy. Finally, for an analysis of environmental effects on tactile performance, we show how efficiency depends on predominant edge direction. For example, with slanted and non-orthogonal joint axis orientations, as present in the stick insect, the optimal sampling strategy is less sensitive to a change from horizontal to vertical edge predominance than with orthogonal and non-slanted joint axes, as present in a cricket.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Barnes TG, Truong TQ, Adams GG, McGruer NE (2001) Large deflection analysis of a biomimetic lobster antenna due to contact and flow. ASME J Appl Mech 68:948–951
Brooks RA (1989) A robot that walks: emergent behavior from a carefully evolved network. Neural Comput 1(2):253–262
Camhi JM, Johnson EN (1999) High-frequency steering manoeuvres mediated by tactile cues: antennal wall-following in the cockroach. J Exp Biol 202:631–643
Cowan NJ, Ma EJ, Cutkosky M, Full RJ (2003) A biologically inspired passive antenna for steering control of a running robot. In: Proceedings of the 11th international symposium on robotics research (ISRR 2003)
Dürr V, König Y, Kittmann R (2001) The antennal motor system of the stick insect Carausius morosus: anatomy and antennal movement pattern during walking. J Comp Physiol A 187:131–144
Dürr V, Krause A, Schmitz J, Cruse H (2003) Neuroethological concepts and their transfer to walking machines. Int J Robot Res 22:151–167
Dürr V, Krause AF (2001) The stick insect antenna as a biological paragon for an actively moved tactile probe for obstacle detection. In: Berns K, Dillmann R (eds) Climbing and walking robots – from biology to industrial applications. In: Proceedings of the 4th international conference on climbing and walking robots (CLAWAR 2001). Professional Engineering Publishing, London, pp 87–96
Gaul L, Nitsche R (2001) Role of friction in mechanical joints. Appl Mech Rev 54(2):93–105
Gewecke M, Heinzel H-G (1980) Aerodynamic and mechanical properties of antennae as air-current sense organs in Locusta migratoria: I. Static characteristics. J Comp Physiol 139:357–366
Gewecke M, Heinzel H-G (1987) Aerodynamic and mechanical properties of antennae as air-current sense organs in Locusta migratoria: II. Dynamic characteristics. J Comp Physiol 161:671–680
Godden DH (1974) The physiological mechanism of catalepsy in the stick insect Carausius morosus br. J Comp Physiol 89:251–274
Honegger HW (1981) A preliminary note on a new optomotor response in crickets: antennal tracking of moving targets. J Comp Physiol A 142:419–421
Horseman BG, Gebhardt MJ, Honegger H-W (1997) Involvement of the suboesophageal and thoracic ganglia in the control of antennal movements in crickets. J Comp Physiol A 181:195–204
Imms AD (1939) On the antennal musculature in insects and other arthropods. Q J Microscop Sci 81:273–320
Kaneko M, Kanayma N, Tsuji T (1998) Active antenna for contact sensing. IEEE Trans Robot Automat 14:278–291
Kindermann T (2003) Positive rückkopplung zur kontrolle komplexer kinematiken am beispiel des hexapoden laufens: experimente und simulationen. Phd Thesis, Universität Bielefeld
Land MF (1981) Optics and vision in invertebrates. In: Autrum H (ed) Handbook of sensory physiology VII/6 B comparative physiology and evolution of vision in invertebrates. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 471–592
Paul RP (1981) Robot manipulator: mathematics, programming and control. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Pelletier Y, McLeod CD (1994) Obstacle perception by insect antennae during terrestial locomotion. Physiol Entomol 19:360–362
Staudacher EM, Gebhardt M, Dürr V (2004) Antennal movements and mechanoreception: neurobiology of active tactile sensors. Adv Insect Physiol (in press)
Warrant EJ, McIntyre PD (1993) Arthropod eye design and the physical limits to spatial resolving power. Prog Neurobiol 40(4):413–461
Zakotnik J, Matheson T, Dürr V (2004) A posture optimisation algorithm for model-based motion capture of natural movement sequences. J Neurosci Meth 135(1–2):42–54
Zeil J, Sandeman R, Sandeman DC (2001) Tactile localisation: the function of active antennal movements in the crayfish Cherax destructor. J Comp Physiol A 157:607–617
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Krause, A., Dürr, V. Tactile efficiency of insect antennae with two hinge joints. Biol. Cybern. 91, 168–181 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00422-004-0490-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00422-004-0490-6