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Journal of Bionic Engineering

ISSN 1672-6529

CN 22-1355/TB

Editor-in-Chief : Luquan Ren Published by Science Press and Springer

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10 July 2023, Volume 20 Issue 4
Previous Issue   

Vibrotactile Sensation: A Systematic Review of the Artificial Pacinian Corpuscle

Si Chen, Zhiheng Yang, Qin Huang, Kuo Li & Shirong Ge
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1401-1416.  DOI: doi.org/10.1007/s42235-023-00348-8
Abstract ( 188 )  
Pacinian corpuscle is a tactile receptor that responds to high-frequency (20–1000 Hz) vibration and has high-pass filtering and mechanical signal amplification functions. It is the main receptor of vibration tactility closely related to fine touch sensation, which is the ability to perceive and localize objects’ shape, texture, and size. Currently, it is still difficult to measure and calculate the friction generated by robots grasping objects. The resolution of touch and vibration sensors cannot satisfy the demand for understanding tribological behavior. The simulation of Pacinian corpuscles’ structure and replication of its key functions will bring richer touch information to robots. In this review article, the structure and functions of Pacinian corpuscles are summarized from the internal structure of a single Pacinian corpuscle and the spatial distribution of multiple Pacinian corpuscles. Then, theoretical models and research on the bionics design of Pacinian corpuscles are introduced based on the three reception processes of Pacinian corpuscles: mechanical transmission, electromechanical transduction, and neural excitation. Finally, the bottlenecks of current research on the simulation of Pacinian corpuscles are summarized, followed by the proposal of research ideas on the simulation of Pacinian corpuscles.
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Biological Vibration Damping Strategies and Mechanisms

He Zhang, Jianhao Li, Ze Wang, Shichao Niu, Junqiu Zhang, Zhiwu Han, Zhengzhi Mu, Bo Li & Luquan Ren
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1417-1433.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00366-6
Abstract ( 151 )  
Excessive vibration in civil and mechanical systems can lead to structural damage or harmful noise. Structural vibration can be mitigated by reducing the energy of the vibration source or by isolating the external disturbance from the target structure. Depending on the tunability and power consumption of the system, existing vibration control strategies are divided into active, passive and semi-active types, providing a more stable and efficient solution for vibration control. However, conventional damping structures have difficulty in meeting the requirements of wide frequency range and high precision damping under complex operating conditions. Therefore, the design of efficient damping structures is one of the key challenges in the development of vibration control technology. Organisms have evolved over millions of years to effectively damp vibrations through special structures and composite materials to ensure their survival. Opening up damping vibration isolation technology from a bionic perspective can meet the frequency requirements of vibration damping and guarantee higher output accuracy of machinery. This review summarizes the basic principles of vibration control and analyses the vibration control strategies for different damping materials and damping structures. Meanwhile, various models of bio-damped structures are outlined. Moreover, the current status and recent progress of research on bionic damped structures based on bio-vibration control strategies are discussed. Finally, new perspectives on future developments in the field of bionic damped vibration control techniques are also presented. A comprehensive understanding of existing vibration damping mechanisms and new methods of bionic damping design will certainly trigger important applications of precision vibration control in the fields of aerospace, rail transportation and mechanical systems.
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Design a Hybrid Energy-Supply for the Electrically Driven Heavy-Duty Hexapod Vehicle

Zhenyu Xu, Haoyuan Yi, Dan Liu, Ru Zhang & Xin Luo
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1434-1448.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00351-z
Abstract ( 139 )  
Increasing the power density and overload capability of the energy-supply units (ESUs) is always one of the most challenging tasks in developing and deploying legged vehicles, especially for heavy-duty legged vehicles, in which significant power fluctuations in energy supply exist with peak power several times surpassing the average value. Applying ESUs with high power density and high overload can compactly ensure fluctuating power source supply on demand. It can avoid the ultra-high configuration issue, which usually exists in the conventional lithium-ion battery-based or engine-generator-based ESUs. Moreover, it dramatically reduces weight and significantly increases the loading and endurance capabilities of the legged vehicles. In this paper, we present a hybrid energy-supply unit for a heavy-duty legged vehicle combining the discharge characteristics of lithium-ion batteries and peak energy release/absorption characteristics of supercapacitors to adapt the ESU to high overload power fluctuations. The parameters of the lithium-ion battery pack and supercapacitor pack inside the ESU are optimally matched using the genetic algorithm based on the energy consumption model of the heavy-duty legged vehicle. The experiment results exhibit that the legged vehicle with a weight of 4.2 tons can walk at the speed of 5 km/h in a tripod gait under a reduction of 35.39% in weight of the ESU compared to the conventional lithium-ion battery-based solution.
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A Real-Time Planning and Control Framework for Robust and Dynamic Quadrupedal Locomotion

Jun Li, Haibo Gao, Yuhui Wan, Haitao Yu & Chengxu Zhou
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1449-1466.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00347-9
Abstract ( 96 )  
Legged locomotion poses significant challenges due to its nonlinear, underactuated and hybrid dynamic properties. These challenges are exacerbated by the high-speed motion and presence of aerial phases in dynamic legged locomotion, which highlights the requirement for online planning based on current states to cope with uncertainty and disturbances. This article proposes a real-time planning and control framework integrating motion planning and whole-body control. In the framework, the designed motion planner allows a wider body rotation range and fast reactive behaviors based on the 3-D single rigid body model. In addition, the combination of a Bézier curve based trajectory interpolator and a heuristic-based foothold planner helps generate continuous and smooth foot trajectories. The developed whole-body controller uses hierarchical quadratic optimization coupled with the full system dynamics, which ensures tasks are prioritized based on importance and joint commands are physically feasible. The performance of the framework is successfully validated in experiments with a torque-controlled quadrupedal robot for generating dynamic motions.
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An Untethered Miniature Soft Jumping Robot Inspired by Quadrupeds

Tianliang Zhong, Fanan Wei, Zhushan Zhai & Wenguang Yang
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1467-1480.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00342-0
Abstract ( 114 )  
In recent years, designing a soft robot that can jump continuously and quickly explore in a narrow space has been a hot research topic. With the continuous efforts of researchers, many types of actuators have been developed and successfully employed to actuate the rapid locomotion of soft robots. Although these mechanisms have enabled soft robots with excellent movement capabilities, they largely rely on external energy supply cables, which greatly limits their applications. Therefore, it is still a big challenge to realize the unconstrained movement of the soft robot and the flexible adjustment of the movement direction in a narrow space. Here, a wireless magnetically controlled soft jumping robot with single-leg is proposed, which can achieve continuous and rapid jumping motion. What's more interesting is that by changing the frequency and waveform of the control signal, this soft robot can easily switch between forward and backward motions. This motion direction switching function enables the magnetically controlled soft robot to return to the initial position without adjusting the direction when it completes the operation in a narrow pipe or takes the wrong path, which greatly improves the motion efficiency of the soft jumping robot and broadens its application field.
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Research on Piezoelectric Driving Microminiature Three-Legged Crawling Robot

Zhongyuan Zheng, Yanru Zhao & Geng Wang
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1481-1492.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00350-0
Abstract ( 156 )  
Micro-robots have the characteristics of small size, light weight and flexible movement. To design a micro three-legged crawling robot with multiple motion directions, a novel driving scheme based on the inverse piezoelectric effect of piezoelectric ceramics was proposed. The three legs of the robot were equipped with piezoelectric bimorphs as drivers, respectively. The motion principles were analyzed and the overall force analysis was carried out with the theoretical mechanics method. The natural frequency, mode shape and amplitude were analyzed with simulation software COMSOL Multiphysics, the optimal size was determined through parametric analysis, and then the micro three-legged crawling robot was manufactured. The effects of different driving voltages, different driving frequencies, different motion bases and different loads on the motion speed of the robot were tested. It is shown that the maximum speed of single-leg driving was 35.41 cm/s, the switching ability between different motion directions was measured, and the movements in six different directions were achieved. It is demonstrated the feasibility of multi-directional motion of the structure. The research may provide a reference for the design and development of miniature piezoelectric three-legged crawling robots.
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Design, Hydrodynamic Analysis, and Testing of a Bio-inspired Movable Bow Mechanism for the Hybrid-driven Underwater Glider

Yanhui Wang, Yudong Guo, Shaoqiong Yang, Tongshuai Sun, Xi Wang & Huihui Zhou
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1493-1513.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00361-x
Abstract ( 136 )  
Hybrid-driven Underwater Glider (HUG) is a new type of underwater vehicle which integrates the functions of an Autonomous Underwater Glider (AUG) and an Autonomous Unmanned Vehicle (AUV). Although HUG has the characteristics of long endurance distance, its maneuverability still has room to be improved. This work introduces a new movement form of the neck of the underwater creature into HUG and proposes a parallel mechanism to adjust the attitude angle and displacement of the HUG’s bow, which can improve the steering maneuverability. Firstly, the influence of bow movement and rotation on the hydrodynamic force and flow field of the whole machine is analyzed by using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method. The degree of freedom, attitude control range and movement amount of the Movable Bow Mechanism (MBM) are obtained, and then the design of MBM is completed based on these constraints. Secondly, the kinematic and dynamic models of MBM are established based on the closed vector method and the Lagrange equation, respectively, which are fully verified by comparing the results of simulation in Matlab and Adams software, then a Radial Basis Function (RBF) neural network adaptive sliding mode controller is designed to improve the dynamic response effect of the output parameters of MBM. Finally, a prototype of MBM is manufactured and assembled. The kinematic, dynamics model and controller are verified by experiments, which provides a basis for applying MBM in HUGs.
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Motion Control and Optimal Design of a Biomimetic Manipulator Based on Snake Coiling and Stretching

Jiangjie Han, Yongshang Wang & Mengbo Qian
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1514-1531.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00346-w
Abstract ( 125 )  
The traditionally articulated manipulator had a single control method, and the limited motion trajectory space was unsuitable for working in an unstructured environment. This paper introduces a control method and optimization for a multijoint manipulator Inspired by snakes' curling and stretching motions. First, we analyze the manipulator’s connection mode and motion planning and propose a new motion method. In addition, we calculated the relevant positions and angles and subdivided the motion of some joints based on the principle of the meta-heuristic algorithm. Ultimately, the manipulator in this mode has a larger workspace and more flexible motion trajectories. The experimental results are consistent with the theoretical analysis, which further proves the feasibility and scalability of the scheme.
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Modeling and Experimental Evaluation of a Bionic Soft Pneumatic Gripper with Joint Actuator

Ming Ma, Quansheng Jiang, Haochen Wang, Yehu Shen & Fengyu Xu
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1532-1543.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00334-0
Abstract ( 117 )  
The pneumatic gripper in industrial applications has the advantages of structure simplicity and great adaptability, but its gripping power is usually limited due to the low modulus of soft materials. To address this problem, a novel bionic pneumatic gripper inspired by spider legs is proposed. The design has two pairs of symmetrical fingers, each finger consists of two pneumatic actuated joints, two rigid links and one pneumatic soft pad. The rigid link connects the pneumatic chamber which is enclosed in a retractable shell to increase the actuation pressure and the gripping force. The compressibility and elasticity of the soft joint and pad enable the gripper to grasp fragile objects without damage. The modeling of the bionic gripper is developed, and the parameters of the joint actuators are optimized accordingly. The prototype is manufactured and tested with the developed experimental platform, where the gripping force, flexibility and adaptability are evaluated. The results indicate that the designed gripper can grasp irregular and fragile items in sizes from 40 to 140 mm without damage, and the lifting weight is up to 15 N.
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Perception of Static and Dynamic Forces with a Bio-inspired Tactile Fingertip

Longhui Qin, Xiaowei Shi, Yihua Wang & Zhitong Zhou
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1544-1554.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00344-y
Abstract ( 147 )  
With the aid of different types of mechanoreceptors, human is capable of perceiving stimuli from surrounding environments and manipulating various objects dexterously. In this paper, a bio-inspired tactile fingertip is designed mimicking human fingertip in both structures and functionalities. Two pairs of strain gages and (Polyvinylidene Fluoride) PVDF films are perpendicularly arranged to simulate the Fast-Adapting (FA) and Slowly Adapting (SA) type mechanoreceptors in human hands, while silicones, Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA), and electronic wires are applied to mimic the skin, bone and nerve fibers. Both static and dynamic forces can be perceived sensitively. A preprocessing electric circuit is further designed to transform the resistor changes into voltages, and then filter and amplify the four-channel signals. In addition to strong robustness due to the embedded structure, the developed fingertip is found sensitive to deformations via a force test experiment. Finally, two robotic experiments explore its recognition ability of contact status and object surface. Excellent performance is found with high accuracy of 99.72% achieved in discriminating six surfaces that are ubiquitous in daily life, which demonstrates the effectiveness of our designed tactile sensor.
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A Highly Adaptable Flexible Soft Glove Consisting of Multimode Deformable Soft Finger

Huadong Zheng, Yan Cheng, Xinjie Wang, Caidong Wang, Fengyang Liu, Wei Bai & Liangwen Wang
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1555-1568.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00338-w
Abstract ( 126 )  
This work presents a novel highly adaptable flexible soft glove composed of multimode deformable three-jointed soft fingers. The soft fingers are assembled by soft actuators and plastic materials that can be driven and controlled with single Degree of Freedom (DOF). A variety of different soft actuators are used as joint drive components to meet the motion requirements of fingers under different working conditions. We established a theoretical model to describe the deflection of the soft actuators based on reciprocal theorems. In addition, the finite-element method (FEM) was used to simulate the curvature change of the soft actuator and the soft finger, the soft actuators theoretical and simulation results were verified by experiments, and the multimode deformable soft fingers were simulated by FEM. Finally, a five-finger soft rehabilitation glove was prototyped and presented experimentally where the flexibility and functionality endowed by the soft fingers were demonstrated and highlighted. The versatility was also showcased in the applications.
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Optimal Synthesis of the Stephenson-II Linkage for Finger Exoskeleton Using Swarm-based Optimization Algorithms

Seyyed Mojtaba Varedi-Koulaei, Masoud Mohammadi, Mohammad Amin Malek Mohammadi & Mahdi Bamdad
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1569-1584.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-022-00327-5
Abstract ( 155 )  
Active exoskeletons have been widely investigated to supplement and restore human hand movements, but a significant limitation is that they have a complicated design requiring multi actuators. Single Degree-Of-Freedom (DOF) planar linkage mechanisms could be used with simple control. This research represents the design and optimization of a mechanism proposed for a finger exoskeleton bionic device. One DOF six-bar linkage Stephenson-II is selected, and a motion-generation mechanism synthesis problem is defined. The design is based on the data obtained from the flexion/extension motion of the index finger through 16 precision points and 16 angles for each phalange associated with the fingertip position. After explaining the kinematic analysis of the Stephenson-II, an evaluation of swarm intelligence techniques, including PSO, GWO, and ARO algorithms for solving optimization problems, is presented. ARO algorithm demonstrates the best performance among them. Moreover, the optimized mechanism in this study has a 50% error reduction compared to the one previously designed (Bataller et al. in Mech Mach Theory 105: 31–43, 2016).
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Motion Planning for a Cable-Driven Lower Limb Rehabilitation Robot with Movable Distal Anchor Points

Jinghang Li, Keyi Wang, Yanzhuo Wang & Chao Wang
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1585-1596.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00349-7
Abstract ( 111 )  
This article introduces a cable-driven lower limb rehabilitation robot with movable distal anchor points (M-CDLR). The traditional cable-driven parallel robots (CDPRs) control the moving platform by changing the length of cables, M-CDLR can also adjust the position of the distal anchor point when the moving platform moves. The M-CDLR this article proposed has gait and single-leg training modes, which correspond to the plane and space motion of the moving platform, respectively. After introducing the system structure configuration, the generalized kinematics and dynamics of M-CDLR are established. The fully constrained CDPRs can provide more stable rehabilitation training than the under-constrained one but requires more cables. Therefore, a motion planning method for the movable distal anchor point of M-CDLR is proposed to realize the theoretically fully constrained with fewer cables. Then the expected trajectory of the moving platform is obtained from the motion capture experiment, and the motion planning of M-CDLR under two training modes is simulated. The simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed motion planning method. This study serves as a basic theoretical study of the structure optimization and control strategy of M-CDLR.
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An EMG-Based Biomimetic Variable Stiffness Modulation Strategy for Bilateral Motor Skills Relearning of Upper Limb Elbow Joint Rehabilitation

Ziyi Yang, Shuxiang Guo, Keisuke Suzuki, Yi Liu & Masahiko Kawanishi
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1597-1612.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00339-9
Abstract ( 135 )  
Bilateral rehabilitation systems with bilateral or unilateral assistive robots have been developed for hemiplegia patients to recover their one-side paralysis. However, the compliant robotic assistance to promote bilateral inter-limb coordination remains a challenge that should be addressed. In this paper, a biomimetic variable stiffness modulation strategy for the Variable Stiffness Actuator (VSA) integrated robotic is proposed to improve bilateral limb coordination and promote bilateral motor skills relearning. An Electromyography (EMG)-driven synergy reference stiffness estimation model of the upper limb elbow joint is developed to reproduce the muscle synergy effect on the affected side limb by independent real-time stiffness control. Additionally, the bilateral impedance control is incorporated for realizing compliant patient–robot interaction. Preliminary experiments were carried out to evaluate the tracking performance and investigate the multiple task intensities’ influence on bilateral motor skills relearning. Experimental results evidence the proposed method could enable bilateral motor task skills relearning with wide-range task intensities and further promote bilateral inter-limb coordination.
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Design of the Pneumatic Pressure Smart Shoes for an Ankle-Assisted Exoskeleton

Tianwen Yao, Jiliang Lv, Liang Yang, Aimin Xu & Shengguan Qu
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1613-1625.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00335-z
Abstract ( 136 )  
Ankle injury is one of the most common joint diseases that people experience during exercise. Most people have suffered ankle injuries at least once in their lives. The studies have shown that the ankle joint provides the most power and torques during the act of walking, compared to the knee and hip joints. This paper presents an ankle joint exoskeleton device, which is mainly used to provide assistance and protection to the human ankle joint with a pneumatic assist drive during walking. The pneumatic pressure smart shoes for this ankle exoskeleton were designed for detecting the human gaits to control the exoskeleton with certain supporting forces to the ankle joints at the appropriate timing. Each smart shoe has two sensors placed in between the wearable layer and the sole. The changes of the foot pressures were measured by the sensors for a microcontroller to control the exoskeleton. Two sets of experimental tests which were 2-month trials and gait selection were used to test the shoes. The experiments of 2-month trials were made to evaluate the stability of the shoes. The results showed that the shoes had no damages, no air leakage, and no malfunctions after the trials. The trials of gait selection were made to test the recognition rate which reached at 99.9% for the shoe system. The results showed that the design of the pneumatic smart shoes for the ankle-assisted exoskeleton met the requirements.
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Coiled Polymer Artificial Muscles Having Dual-Mode Actuation with Large Stress Generation

Xinghao Hu, Runmin Liu, Kai Zhao, Yilun Wang, Xianfu Bao, Lin Xu, Guanggui Cheng & Jianning Ding
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1626-1634.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00353-x
Abstract ( 123 )  
Coiled polymer artificial muscles with both large tensile stroke and giant force generation are needed for practical applications in robotics, soft exosuits, and prosthesis. However, most polymer yarn artificial muscles cannot generate a large force or stress. Here, we report an inexpensive Twisted and Coiled Polymer artificial muscle (TCP) that performs both large isobaric and isometric contractions. This TCP can generate a tensile stroke of 20.1% and a specific work capacity of up to 1.3 kJ kg?1 during temperature changes from 20 to 180 °C. Moreover, the nylon yarn artificial muscle produced a reversible output stress of 28.4 MPa, which is 100 times larger than human skeletal muscle. A robot arm and a simple gripper were made to demonstrate the isobaric actuation and isometric actuation of our TCP muscle, repectivley. Thus, the polymer artificial muscles with dual-mode actuation show potential applications in the field of robotics, grippers, and exoskeletons and so on.
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Development of Bio-cultured Artificial Muscles with High Design Flexibility

Hirono Ohashi, Shunsuke Shigaki, Ryo Teramae, Masahiro Shimizu & Koh Hosoda
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1635-1645.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00355-9
Abstract ( 201 )  
Recent advances in bionics have made it possible to create various tissue and organs. Using this cell culture technology, engineers have developed a robot driven by three-dimensional cultured muscle cells (bioactuator)—a muscle cell robot. For more applications, researchers have been developed various tissues and organs with bio3D printer. However, three-dimensional cultured muscle cells printed by bio3D printer have been not used for muscle cell robot yet. The aim of our study is to develop easy fabrication method of bioactuator having high design flexibility like as bio3D printer. We fabricated three-dimensional cultured muscle cells using mold and dish having pin which can contribute to shape and cell alignment. In this study, we observed that our method maintained the shape of three-dimensional cultured muscle cells and caused cell alignment which is important for bioactuator development. We named three-dimensional cultured muscle cells developed in this study “bio-cultured artificial muscle (BiCAM)”. Finally, we observed that BiCAM contracted in response to electrical stimulus. From these data, we concluded our proposed method is easy fabrication method of bioactuator having high design flexibility.
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The Role of Vanes in the Damping of Bird Feathers

Kai Deng, Hamed Rajabi, Alexander Kovalev, Clemens F. Schaber, Zhendong Dai & Stanislav N. Gorb
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1646-1655.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-022-00329-3
Abstract ( 123 )  
Bird feathers sustain bending and vibrations during flight. Such unwanted vibrations could potentially cause noise and flight instabilities. Damping could alter the system response, resulting in improving quiet flight, stability, and controllability. Vanes of feathers are known to be indispensable for supporting the aerodynamic function of the wings. The relationship between the hierarchical structures of vanes and the mechanical properties of the feather has been previously studied. However, still little is known about their relationship with feathers’ damping properties. Here, the role of vanes in feathers’ damping properties was quantified. The vibrations of the feathers with vanes and the bare shaft without vanes after step deflections in the plane of the vanes and perpendicular to it were measured using high-speed video recording. The presence of several main natural vibration modes was observed in the feathers with vanes. After trimming vanes, more vibration modes were observed, the fundamental frequencies increased by 51–70%, and the damping ratio decreased by 38–60%. Therefore, we suggest that vanes largely increase feather damping properties. Damping mechanisms based on the morphology of feather vanes are discussed. The aerodynamic damping is connected with the planar vane surface, the structural damping is related to the interlocking between barbules and barbs, and the material damping is caused by the foamy medulla inside barbs.
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Study on Acoustic Performance for Diatom Frustule with Nanoporous Structure

Fanming Meng, Yong Zheng, Hongxia Wang & Lin Chen
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1656-1669.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00337-x
Abstract ( 100 )  
The acoustic performance for the nanoporous frustule of the diatom is studied based on the computational fluid dynamics theory and acoustic theory involved. Representative Coscinodiscus sp. frustule is observed through the scanning electron microscope and modeled by the commercial software Solidworks. Further, the acoustic performance for the Coscinodiscus sp. frustule is studied at the varied depth, diameter or interval of the pore, as well as the film thickness of the fluid surrounding the Coscinodiscus sp. frustule. The numerical results show that, when the upper and lower pore diameters are separately 200 and 300 nm, the upper and lower pore depths are separately 200 and 250 nm, and both the pore interval and fluid film thickness are 500 nm, the elaborate nanoporous structure of Coscinodiscus sp. frustule can lower its acoustic power level by 17.49%, compared with that without porous structure. Meanwhile, the double-layer pore of Coscinodiscus sp. frustule can decrease its acoustic power level by 12.69%, compared with its single-layer pore structures.
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Design and Analysis of Energy Absorbent Bioinspired Lattice Structures

Lucrezia Greco, Federica Buccino, Zhuo Xu, Laura Vergani, Filippo Berto, Mario Guagliano, Seyyed Moahmmad Javad Razavi & Sara Bagherifard
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1670-1686.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00358-6
Abstract ( 115 )  
The increasing demand for energy absorbent structures, paired with the need for more efficient use of materials in a wide range of engineering fields, has led to an extensive range of designs in the porous forms of sandwiches, honeycomb, and foams. To achieve an even better performance, an ingenious solution is to learn how biological structures adjust their configurations to absorb energy without catastrophic failure. In this study, we have attempted to blend the shape freedom, offered by additive manufacturing techniques, with the biomimetic approach, to propose new lattice structures for energy absorbent applications. To this aim we have combined multiple bio-inspirational sources for the design of optimized configurations under compressive loads. Periodic lattice structures are fabricated based on the designed unit cell geometries and studied using experimental and computational strategies. The individual effect of each bio-inspired feature has been evaluated on the energy absorbance performance of the designed structure. Based on the design parameters of the lattices, a tuning between the strength and energy absorption could be obtained, paving the way for transition within a wide range of real-life applicative scenarios.
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A Novel Approach for the Fabrication of Sharkskin Structured Bionic Surfaces with Hydrophobic Wettability: Laser Processing and Ordered Abrasive Belt Grinding

Guijian Xiao, Zhenyang Liu, Ouchuan Lin, Yi He, Shuai Liu & Jianchao Huang
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1687-1700.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00333-1
Abstract ( 148 )  
A new process for the fabrication of sharkskin bionic structures on metal surfaces is proposed. The sharkskin bionic surface was successfully machined on the surface of IN718 by laser sequencing of the abrasive belt surface, laser processing of the layered scale-like structure, and ribbed texture grinding. The flexible contact properties of belt grinding allow ribbed structures to be machined uniformly on a hierarchical, scale-like microstructure. Sharkskin bionic microstructures with radii greater than 75 μm were prepared after parameter optimisation. The influence of processing parameters on the geometrical accuracy of the microstructure was investigated, the microstructure microform and elemental distribution were analyzed, and the relationship between the ribbed microstructure and chemical properties of the surface of the bionic sharkskin on wettability was revealed. The results indicate that reducing the laser power and increasing the laser scan rate can reduce the laser thermal effect and improve the microstructure processing accuracy. The laser ablation process is accompanied by a violent chemical reaction that introduces a large amount of oxygen and carbon elements and infiltrates them at a certain depth. The wettability of the surface undergoes a transition from hydrophilic (contact angle 69.72°) to hydrophobic (contact angle 131.56°) due to the adsorption of C–C/C–H and the reduction of C=O/O=C–O during the placement process. The ribbed microstructure changes the solid–liquid contact on the surface into a solid–liquid–gas contact, which has an enhanced effect on hydrophobicity. This study is a valuable guide to the processing of hydrophobic layered bionic microstructures.
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“Wood-nacre”: Development of a Bio-inspired Wood-Based Composite for Beam and 3D-Surface Elements with Improved Failure Mechanisms

Ulrich Müller, Peter Halbauer, Alexander Stadlmann, Maximilian Grabner, Hajir Al-musawi, Bernhard Ungerer & Maximilian Pramreiter
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1701-1711.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00343-z
Abstract ( 124 )  
Following the natural structure of the nacre, the material studied consists of a multitude of hexagonal tiles that are glued together in an offset manner with a ductile adhesive. This so-called “wood nacre” consists of macroscopic tiles of birch wood veneer with a thickness of 0.8 mm and a size of 20 or 10 mm in diameter in order to mimic the aragonite tiles and the ductile PUR-adhesive corresponds to the layers of collagen in between. E-modulus (MOE), bending strength (MOR) and impact bending strength of the samples were determined and compared with reference samples of birch laminated wood. The hierarchical layered structure of the tiles does not cause any relevant loss in stiffness. Like nacre, “wood nacre” also shows tough fracture behaviour and a high homogenization effect. However, strain hardening and high fracture toughness of the natural model could not be fully achieved. The reason for this is the insufficient ratio between the strength and stiffness of the veneer layers and the adhesive. By adjusting the size of the tiles, increasing the strength and surface roughness of the veneers, e.g. by densification, and using more ductile adhesives that can be applied in smaller layer thicknesses, it should be possible to better reproduce the natural ratios of nacre and thus achieve a significant improvement in the material properties of “wood nacre”. In addition to the mechanical properties, the high potential of the new material lies in the possibility of producing 3D shell-shaped elements for lightweight wood hybrid construction.
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Nanocomposite Electrospun Scaffold Based on Polyurethane/Polycaprolactone Incorporating Gold Nanoparticles and Soybean Oil for Tissue Engineering Applications

Nahideh Asadi, Azizeh Rahmani Del Bakhshayesh, Hadi Sadeghzadeh, Amir Nezami Asl, Sharif Kaamyabi & Abolfazl Akbarzadeh
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1712-1722.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00345-x
Abstract ( 117 )  
Electrospun nanofibers combined with a wide range of functional additives can be used for a various tissue engineering applications due to their desired biomimetic and physicochemical properties. Therefore, the present study was conducted to obtain a highly efficient nanocomposite electrospun scaffold with appropriate physicochemical performance and biological properties based on Polycaprolactone/Polyurethane (PCL/PU) mixed with gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and soybean oil (SO). In the present study, the desired nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning PCL/PU mixed solution with GNPs and SO. The nanocomposite electrospun PU/PCL/SO/GNP nanofibers were characterized in terms of chemical composition by attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), morphological structure by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and mechanical and biological properties. The surface topography and wettability were determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and water contact angle measurements, respectively. It was found that the presence of GNPs along with SO in the structure of PCL/PU nanofiber created a smoother surface in terms of surface roughness and also a more homogeneous fibrous structure. In addition, it was observed that both SO and GNPs caused an increase in the electrical conductivity of the fibrous mats. In the biocompatibility evaluations by measuring cell viability and cell adherence to the scaffold’s surfaces, it was found that adding of SO and GNPs supports fibroblasts. Taken together, the fabricated nanocomposite fibrous scaffolds can be a potential candidate for various tissue engineering purposes.
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Influence of SiC Nanoparticles Reinforcement in Areca/Tamarind Hybrid Biopolymer Composites: Thermo-mechanical, Tribological and Morphological Features

Gajendiran Hariharan, Pattipati Chinna Krishnamachary, Joseph Selvi Binoj & Bright Brailson Mansingh
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1723-1736.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00341-1
Abstract ( 119 )  
Natural fibers are displacing synthetic fibers as reinforcement in polymer composites due to their ease of processing, low cost, wide availability, biodegradability and sustainability. In this study, industrially discarded agro-waste areca fruit husk and tamarind fruit fibers were processed and used as reinforcement with unsaturated polyester resin to create a hybrid composite containing SiC nano filler particles. The SiC nano filler particles were varied from 1 to 4 wt.% in incremental steps of 1 wt.% with a constant 40 wt.% fiber reinforcement to determine its impact on the thermo-mechanical, morphological, wear and hygro-aging properties of the developed hybrid composite. However, the composite made of 3 wt.% SiC nano filler particles exposed overall better properties with better tensile (9.137 MPa), flexural (104.056 MPa), impact (7.983 J/cm2), hardness (91.577 HRRW), wear (2.2?×?10–6 μm), crystallite size (7.9 nm) and thermal stability (360 °C). Further advancement in weight percent of filler material, has worsened the properties due to poor dispersion and agglomeration factors by reducing the tensile, flexural, impact and hardness characteristics by 4.6%, 6.4%, 4.5% and 2.18% respectively. Also, the microstructural investigation revealed the failure pattern, information on interfacial adhesion between the reinforcement, filler and matrix of the hybrid composites. In addition, the crystalline characteristics and availability of functional groups in hybrid polymer composite with 3 wt.% SiC nano filler particles were disclosed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrum analysis, respectively. The above findings reflects that the produced hybrid polymer composites suits well for interiors of automobiles and maritime interior applications to support loads with in the specified range.
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Fabrication and Characterization of Banana Pseudostem Fibre Reinforced Epoxy Hybrid Composite Using Al2O3 as Filler

Ankit Samal, Sanjeev Kumar, Manish Bhargava & Barnik Saha Roy
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1737-1746.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00331-3
Abstract ( 127 )  
Natural fibre-reinforced composites are now becoming incredibly common in various products because of their comparable qualities to conventional materials. Due to its availability, superior mechanical qualities, and low cost, banana pseudostem is extensively used in various applications requiring natural fibres. This study investigates the physical and mechanical properties of epoxy composites reinforced with banana pseudostem fibres that contain Al2O3 particulate. In order to produce composites with fibre and filler loadings, manual hand layup was used. Fibre and filler loading effects on composite properties were studied in experiments. The results of the investigations demonstrate that proportion of Al2O3 in composites significantly influences their mechanical and physical properties. Additionally, the composite with a fibre content of 30% shows improved mechanical proportions and hardness. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to study the composite's thermal behaviour. Composites are more thermally stable than raw epoxy. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Scanning electron microscopy analyses were used to characterize the composites.
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Coronavirus Mask Protection Algorithm: A New Bio-inspired Optimization Algorithm and Its Applications

Yongliang Yuan, Qianlong Shen, Shuo Wang, Jianji Ren, Donghao Yang, Qingkang Yang, Junkai Fan & Xiaokai Mu
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1747-1765.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00359-5
Abstract ( 124 )  
Nowadays, meta-heuristic algorithms are attracting widespread interest in solving high-dimensional nonlinear optimization problems. In this paper, a COVID-19 prevention-inspired bionic optimization algorithm, named Coronavirus Mask Protection Algorithm (CMPA), is proposed based on the virus transmission of COVID-19. The main inspiration for the CMPA originated from human self-protection behavior against COVID-19. In CMPA, the process of infection and immunity consists of three phases, including the infection stage, diffusion stage, and immune stage. Notably, wearing masks correctly and safe social distancing are two essential factors for humans to protect themselves, which are similar to the exploration and exploitation in optimization algorithms. This study simulates the self-protection behavior mathematically and offers an optimization algorithm. The performance of the proposed CMPA is evaluated and compared to other state-of-the-art metaheuristic optimizers using benchmark functions, CEC2020 suite problems, and three truss design problems. The statistical results demonstrate that the CMPA is more competitive among these state-of-the-art algorithms. Further, the CMPA is performed to identify the parameters of the main girder of a gantry crane. Results show that the mass and deflection of the main girder can be improved by 16.44% and 7.49%, respectively.
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Improved Reptile Search Algorithm by Salp Swarm Algorithm for Medical Image Segmentation

Laith Abualigah, Mahmoud Habash, Essam Said Hanandeh, Ahmad MohdAziz Hussein, Mohammad Al Shinwan, Raed Abu Zitar & Heming Jia
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1766-1790.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00332-2
Abstract ( 185 )  
This study proposes a novel nature-inspired meta-heuristic optimizer based on the Reptile Search Algorithm combed with Salp Swarm Algorithm for image segmentation using gray-scale multi-level thresholding, called RSA-SSA. The proposed method introduces a better search space to find the optimal solution at each iteration. However, we proposed RSA-SSA to avoid the searching problem in the same area and determine the optimal multi-level thresholds. The obtained solutions by the proposed method are represented using the image histogram. The proposed RSA-SSA employed Otsu’s variance class function to get the best threshold values at each level. The performance measure for the proposed method is valid by detecting fitness function, structural similarity index, peak signal-to-noise ratio, and Friedman ranking test. Several benchmark images of COVID-19 validate the performance of the proposed RSA-SSA. The results showed that the proposed RSA-SSA outperformed other metaheuristics optimization algorithms published in the literature.
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BEESO: Multi-strategy Boosted Snake-Inspired Optimizer for Engineering Applications

Gang Hu, Rui Yang, Muhammad Abbas & Guo Wei
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1791-1827.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-022-00330-w
Abstract ( 127 )  
This paper presents an efficient enhanced snake optimizer termed BEESO for global optimization and engineering applications. As a newly mooted meta-heuristic algorithm, snake optimizer (SO) mathematically models the mating characteristics of snakes to find the optimal solution. SO has a simple structure and offers a delicate balance between exploitation and exploration. However, it also has some shortcomings to be improved. The proposed BEESO consequently aims to lighten the issues of lack of population diversity, convergence slowness, and the tendency to be stuck in local optima in SO. The presentation of Bi-Directional Search (BDS) is to approach the global optimal value along the direction guided by the best and the worst individuals, which makes the convergence speed faster. The increase in population diversity in BEESO benefits from Modified Evolutionary Population Dynamics (MEPD), and the replacement of poorer quality individuals improves population quality. The Elite Opposition-Based Learning (EOBL) provides improved local exploitation ability of BEESO by utilizing solid solutions with good performance. The performance of BEESO is illustrated by comparing its experimental results with several algorithms on benchmark functions and engineering designs. Additionally, the results of the experiment are analyzed again from a statistical point of view using the Friedman and Wilcoxon rank sum tests. The findings show that these introduced strategies provide some improvements in the performance of SO, and the accuracy and stability of the optimization results provided by the proposed BEESO are competitive among all algorithms. To conclude, the proposed BEESO offers a good alternative to solving optimization issues.
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A Modified Oppositional Chaotic Local Search Strategy Based Aquila Optimizer to Design an Effective Controller for Vehicle Cruise Control System

Serdar Ekinci, Davut Izci, Laith Abualigah & Raed Abu Zitar
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1828-1851.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00336-y
Abstract ( 208 )  
In this work, we propose a real proportional-integral-derivative plus second-order derivative (PIDD2) controller as an efficient controller for vehicle cruise control systems to address the challenging issues related to efficient operation. In this regard, this paper is the first report in the literature demonstrating the implementation of a real PIDD2 controller for controlling the respective system. We construct a novel and efficient metaheuristic algorithm by improving the performance of the Aquila Optimizer via chaotic local search and modified opposition-based learning strategies and use it as an excellently performing tuning mechanism. We also propose a simple yet effective objective function to increase the performance of the proposed algorithm (CmOBL-AO) to adjust the real PIDD2 controller's parameters effectively. We show the CmOBL-AO algorithm to perform better than the differential evolution algorithm, gravitational search algorithm, African vultures optimization, and the Aquila Optimizer using well-known unimodal, multimodal benchmark functions. CEC2019 test suite is also used to perform ablation experiments to reveal the separate contributions of chaotic local search and modified opposition-based learning strategies to the CmOBL-AO algorithm. For the vehicle cruise control system, we confirm the more excellent performance of the proposed method against particle swarm, gray wolf, salp swarm, and original Aquila optimizers using statistical, Wilcoxon signed-rank, time response, robustness, and disturbance rejection analyses. We also use fourteen reported methods in the literature for the vehicle cruise control system to further verify the more promising performance of the CmOBL-AO-based real PIDD2 controller from a wider perspective. The excellent performance of the proposed method is also illustrated through different quality indicators and different operating speeds. Lastly, we also demonstrate the good performing capability of the CmOBL-AO algorithm for real traffic cases. We show the CmOBL-AO-based real PIDD2 controller as the most efficient method to control a vehicle cruise control system.
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Chaotic Social Group Optimization for Structural Engineering Design Problems

Anima Naik
Journal of Bionic Engineering. 2023, 20 (4):  1852-1877.  DOI: 10.1007/s42235-023-00340-2
Abstract ( 112 )  
Till now, several novel metaheuristic algorithms are proposed for global search. But only specific algorithms have become popular or attracted researchers, who are efficient in solving global optimization problems as well as real-world application problems. The Social Group Optimization (SGO) algorithm is a new metaheuristic bioinspired algorithm inspired by human social behavior that attracted researchers due to its simplicity and problem-solving capability. In this study, to deal with the problems of low accuracy and local convergence in SGO, the chaos theory is introduced into the evolutionary process of SGO. Since chaotic mapping has certainty, ergodicity, and stochastic property, by replacing the constant value of the self-introspection parameter with chaotic maps, the proposed chaotic social group optimization algorithm increases its convergence rate and resulting precision. The proposal chaotic SGO is validated through 13 benchmark functions and after that 9 structural engineering design problems have been solved. The simulated results have been noticed as competent with that of state-of-art algorithms regarding convergence quality and accuracy, which certifies that improved SGO with chaos is valid and feasible.
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