Full metadata
Title
Octopus Arm Morphology, a Source of Inspiration for Engineering Applications
Description
Animals have always been a source of inspiration for real-life problems. The octopus is one such animal that has a lot of untapped potential. The octopus’s arm is without solid joints or bone structure and despite this it can achieve many complicated movements with virtually infinite degrees of freedom. This ability is made possible through the unique morphology of the arm. The octopus’s arm is divided into transverse, longitudinal, oblique, and circular muscle groups and each one has a unique muscle fiber orientation. The octopus’s arm is classified as a hydrostat because it maintains a constant volume while contracting with the help of its different muscle groups. These muscle groups allow elongation, shortening, bending, and twisting of the arm when they work in combination with each other. To confirm the role of transverse and longitudinal muscle groups, an electromyography (EMG) recording of these muscle groups was performed while an amputated arm of an Octopus bimaculoides was stimulated with an electrical signal to induce movement. Statistical analysis was performed on these results to confirm the roles of each muscle group quantitatively. Octopus arm morphology was previously assumed to be uniform along the arm. Through a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study at the proximal, middle, and distal sections of the arm this notion was disproven, and a new pattern was discovered. Drawing inspiration from this finding and previous octopus arm prototypes, 4 bio-inspired designs were conceived and tested in finite element analysis (FEA) simulations. Four tests in elongation, shortening, bending, and transverse-assisted bending movements were performed on all designs to compare each design’s performance. The findings in this study have applications in engineering and soft robotics fields for use cases such as, handling fragile objects, minimally invasive surgeries, difficult-to-access areas that require squeezing through small holes, and other novel cases.
Date Created
2023
Contributors
- Ahmadi, Salaheddin (Author)
- Marvi, Hamidreza (Thesis advisor)
- Fisher, Rebecca (Committee member)
- Xu, Zhe (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Topical Subject
Resource Type
Extent
61 pages
Language
eng
Copyright Statement
In Copyright
Primary Member of
Peer-reviewed
No
Open Access
No
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.2.N.190970
Level of coding
minimal
Cataloging Standards
Note
Partial requirement for: M.S., Arizona State University, 2023
Field of study: Mechanical Engineering
System Created
- 2023-12-14 02:01:28
System Modified
- 2023-12-14 02:01:33
- 10 months 3 weeks ago
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