Octop\US: Uncovering the Dynamics of Octopus Arm Behaviors Using Ultrasound Imaging

While the octopus is known for the remarkably dexterous grasping and manipulation abilities of its eight arms, the mechanisms by which they so effectively control their slender, flexible arms are not well understood. This award supports research with the aim to identify the strategies that an octopus uses to coordinate and control its soft arms. Using ultrasound imaging, the 3D motions of the arms will be measured and quantified. The measurements will be used to develop a model of the dynamics and kinematics of the arm movement and control, with the aim of developing a soft robotic arm with capabilities similar to the octopus. This research has the potential to provide new knowledge about complex arm motion, and develop the tools to translate this knowledge to controls for soft robotic arms. This project will also engage high school students through public outreach and participation in STEM camps. It will leverage the natural curiosity and enthusiasm evoked by the octopus to engage students and introduce them to bioinspired engineering at the intersection of biology and robotics. Overall, this project will advance our understanding and modeling of how the octopus is able to control its arms and translate that knowledge into improved control of soft robotic arms, which have numerous industrial, healthcare, defense and agriculture applications. This project will advance understanding of the dynamics of soft, fibrous structures. Through a novel application of ultrasound imaging, this project will provide a detailed 3D dataset of octopus arm kinematics, an area where data has previously been sparse due to the inherent challenges of 3D tracking the dynamics of a continuously deformable octopus arm. The 3D kinematic data will be analyzed through curvature- and topology-based analysis to identify principles of soft arm control and offer new perspectives on how these soft structures achieve their precise and coordinated movements. The insights gained will significantly advance understanding of how biological octopuses coordinate their arms during complex behaviors (a capability unparalleled in the animal kingdom) and provide the foundation for new modes of soft robotic control that replicate the flexibility, dexterity, and adaptability of biological octopus arms. At its core, this work will expand fundamental knowledge of how soft, compliant structures can be controlled and manipulated in both biological and engineered systems. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.