![]() In this case, we refer to the model as ‘biomimetic’. One motivation for building physical models is to gain a better understanding of the biology of the animal in question that may be difficult or impossible to obtain from live animals ( Webb, 2001 MacIver, 2001). Biomimetic and bio-inspired physical models There is one African electric knifefish species, Gymnarchus niloticus, which possesses a dorsal ribbon fin nearly identical to the ventral fin of South American knifefish shown in Fig. The mechanics exhibited by mormyrids differs greatly from that of the knifefish and has largely been left unstudied. This review focuses first on physical models that incorporate the mechanics of South American knifefish, and second on artificial electrosense systems inspired by all weakly electric fish including the African mormyrids. ![]() The result is that there has been significant progress in understanding the neuromechanics of a host of systems, including the lamprey, flies, frogs, cats, salamanders, aplysia, rat vibrissal systems, cockroaches and fish, among others ( Chiel et al., 2009 Nishikawa et al., 2007 Cowan and Fortune, 2007 Collins et al., 2005). More recently, within this model system community as well as others, the importance of body mechanics and locomotion for understanding neural systems has become increasingly recognized ( MacIver, 2009 Chiel and Beer, 1997 Full and Koditschek, 1999 Dickinson et al., 2000). 1A) have been a leading model system within sensory neurobiology for many years. Future integration of electrosense and ribbon fin technology into a knifefish robot should likewise result in a vehicle capable of navigating complex 3D geometries unreachable with current underwater vehicles, as well as provide insights into how to design mobile robots that integrate high bandwidth sensing with highly responsive multidirectional movement. While robotic ribbon fin and artificial electrosense research has been pursued separately to reduce complications that arise when they are combined, electric fish have succeeded in their ecological niche through close coupling of their sensing and mechanical systems. Artificial electrosense is capable of aiding navigation, detection and discrimination of objects, and mapping the environment, all tasks for which the fish use electrosense extensively. Engineered active electrosensory models inspired by electric fish allow for close-range sensing in turbid waters where other sensing modalities fail. These models have uncovered the mechanisms by which knifefish generate thrust for swimming forward and backward, hovering, and heaving dorsally using a ventral elongated median fin. Study of these fish has resulted in models that illuminate the principles behind their electrosensory system and unique swimming abilities. Weakly electric knifefish have intrigued both biologists and engineers for decades with their unique electrosensory system and agile swimming mechanics.
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