PolyPEDAL

The Poly-PEDAL Lab at UC Berkeley studies the Performance, Energetics and Dynamics of Animal Locomotion. Directed by Robert Full, the lab explores the remarkable capabilities of many-footed animals (Poly-).

The Poly-PEDAL Lab applies the same techniques used in the study of human gait, but in miniature. The internationally recognized program in comparative physiology and biomechanics has shown how examining a diversity of animals leads to the discovery of general principles of locomotion. General principles can then be used as hypotheses to explain the remarkable diversity in physiology and morphology in nature. Discovering the function of simple, tractable neuromechanical systems along with a knowledge of evolution can provide new design ideas applicable to the control of animal and human gait. Full's research has provided biological inspiration for the design of multi-legged robots, novel adhesives, artificial muscles and computer animations.