Muscular stimulation based biological actuator from locust’s hindleg

The development and control of biological actuators have been an active research field. Biological actuators revealed high mobility with compact dimensions, which is critical for the design of microrobots. The powerful kicking motion of the locust is important for its quick jumping. Herein, we examined the kicking process of the locust’s hindleg and controlled the flexion and extension motions via exogenous stimulation. Unlike a simple extension of the leg, co-contraction is adopted by locust to store energy and increase jumping power. Thus, we imitated the co-contraction process and transformed the locust’s hindleg into a biological jumping actuator. Through coordinating the kicking of bilateral hindlegs together, we achieved the jumping control of a locust.