A rapid-response soft end effector inspired by the hummingbird beak

Biology is a wellspring of inspiration in engineering design. This paper delves into the application of elastic instabilities-commonly used in biological systems to facilitate swift movement as a power-amplification mechanism for soft robots. Specifically, inspired by the nonlinear mechanics of the hummingbird beak and shedding further light on it, we design, build, and test a novel, rapid-response, soft end effector. The hummingbird beak embodies the capacity for swift movement, achieving closure in less than 10 ms. Previous work demonstrated that rapid movement is achieved through snap-through deformations, induced by muscular actuation of the beak's root. Using nonlinear finite element simulations coupled with continuation algorithms, we unveil a representative portion of the equilibrium manifold of the beak-inspired structure. The exploration involves the application of a sequence of rotations as exerted by the hummingbird muscles. Specific emphasis is placed on pinpointing and tail..., , , This document outlines how the data in this repository is structured. The software required to run the files in the repository is: * Matlab * Â MP4 player (for instance, VLC media player) The folders in the repository are structured as follows. 1. The folder \"Figures\" contains the Matlab plots that have been used for the figures in the paper. All Matlab .fig files can be opened with Matlab and the curves copied then elsewhere. The data from each of the figures can also be extracted from the plots by accessing the object fields directly. See the Mathworks help pages for more details. For example, see here: [https://uk.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/2951-extracting-data-series-from-fig-file](https://uk.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/2951-extracting-data-series-from-fig-file) 2. The folder \"Video\" contains the videos shot during the test or made based on the continuous photos taken during the test. The formats of the videos are '.mp4' and '.m4v'. The folder c...