“RobOstrich” Manipulator: A Novel Mechanical Design and Control based on the Anatomy and Behavior of an Ostrich Neck

This study provides a novel mechanical design and a control law for tendon-driven flexible manipulator based on the anatomy of an ostrich neck.

We carried out a dissection of ostrich neck which clarified muscle attachment site and cross-sectional views of the neck.

We proposed a novel wire arrangement and control method, that performs the same movement as the ostrich's neck by integrating our findings from the dissection with previous studies on bird's necks.

The implemented manipulator showed that morphology, such as joint angle limit and muscle-tendon arrangement, provides dexterity and structural stability to flexible manipulators.

These results are suggestive for biology because they indicate that actual birds may also use the proposed mechanism and control laws.