Media
The Lesser Egyptian Jerboa
Jerboas are highly-maneuverable bipedal hopping rodents. This slow-motion video shows a jerboa skipping across a force place at 0.87m/s (almost 2mph!).
Obstacle flight of the pigeon
To study birds' flight control and path planning in a cluttered environment, we challenged pigeons to fly through a forest of vertical poles. The body and head were tracked in 3D to allow reconstruction of the flight path as well as the panoramic visual field.
A head-mount wireless camera was strapped on top of the pigeon to capture videos that represent the experience of a bird flying through a forest. The pigeon's opto-kinetic reflex kept the view level regardless of the body position during flight.
Goat perturbation recovery
These experiments, part of a collaboration with Boston Dynamics, registered the forces produced by goats during perturbations and subsequent recoveries.
Pigeons turn like helicopters
A pigeon in a low speed aerial turn. Turning pigeons produce average downstroke aerodynamic forces in a consistent direction relative to the body, requiring body rotations to change flight trajectories, analogous to helicopters and many flying insects.
Cockatiel flight
A cockatiel, Nympicus hollandicus, flying in the windtunnel at 9 m/s (~ 20 mph). We are currently studying how these birds maneuver in comparison to other species.
Emu chick on a treadmill
This movie shows an emu chick running on the Concord Field Station treadmill. Taken using a high-speed digital video camera, this footage allows us to slow down the animal's movements for analysis.
Tammar Wallaby hopping
Here is a tammar wallaby hopping on the Concord Field Station treadmill. This sequence was captured at high speed (250 frames per second) and is played back at a reduced rate to allow slow motion viewing and analysis.