Validating a Termite-Inspired Construction Coordination Mechanism Using an Autonomous Robot.

ABSTRACT: Many species of termites build large, structurally complex mounds, and the mechanisms behind this coordinated construction have been a longstanding topic of investigation. Recent work has suggested that humidity may play a key role in the mound expansion of savannah-dwelling Macrotermes species: termites preferentially deposit soil on the mound surface at the boundary of the high-humidity region characteristic of the mound interior, implying a coordination mechanism through environmental feedback where addition of wet soil influences the humidity profile and vice versa. Here we test this potential mechanism physically using a robotic system. Local humidity measurements provide a cue for material deposition. As the analogue of the termite's deposition of wet soil and corresponding lo

SUBMITTER: Carey NE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8098689 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature