From Razor Clams to Robots: Drawing Engineering Inspiration from Natural Systems

Many natural systems have evolved optimal strategies to perform certain tasks -- climbing, sensing, swimming -- within the limits set by the laws of physics. This observation can be used both to guide engineering design, and to gain insights into the form and function of biological systems. In this talk I will discuss both of these themes in the context of crawling snails, digging clams, and swimming microorganisms. We will discover how an analysis of the physical principles exploited by snails and clams leads to the development of novel robotic diggers and crawlers (RoboSnail and RoboClam) and explore the paddling strategies that result from the unique challenges faced by tiny swimmers.