PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

The properties of the system that controls the distance between body and ground was investigated in the stick insect Carausius morosus. The insect walked on a lightweight double treadwheel under open-loop or closed-loop conditions. The open-loop investigations show that the dynamic behaviour of the height-control system in the walking animal can be described in terms of a simple proportional system with negligible dynamic properties, and it is therefore much simpler than the height-control system in the standing animal. Under open-loop conditions, we found no coupling between contralateral or ipsilateral legs. This agrees with the findings on standing animals. The force-height characteristic shows two ranges, in each of which the system exhibits a linear relationship but a different slope. Under closed-loop conditions, the force-height characteristic shows the same two linear ranges, but the slopes are greater than under open-loop conditions. Because the height controller of each leg can be considered to act like a spring, this result means that under closed-loop conditions the controller is stiffer than it is under open-loop conditions.