An anatomical study to control the movement of a beetle's hind leg through electrical stimulation of muscles

The aim of this report is to provide essential informations on the control of the movement of a beetle’s hind leg, which is ultimately used create a walking cyborg beetle. The project includes the literature review, anatomical study of the musculature structure of each individual segments of the hind leg and the electrical stimulation of the muscles of a live beetle. In this project, the primary aim is to control the hind leg motion of the Mecynorrhina Torquata, one of the largest flower beetle in the world. Before the stimulating of the muscles, an anatomy study will be carried out during the dissection process to locate the different muscle groups that control the different segment of the leg. Thereafter, the controlling of the movement of hind leg is achieved through the stimulating of the muscles at an approximate voltage of 0.75V and 100Hz frequency. Upon successful inducing the movement of a segment of the hind leg, reattempting to stimulate the same area will be carried out at a different voltage to test the threshold and limit to induce the same movement. The experimental results shows that, the muscles that control a particular segment of the leg have to reside in the previous segment and the musculature structure in the femur allows greater translating of power during walking as compared to other segments of the hind leg. In addition, the stimulating voltage is directly proportional to the induced response of the leg. The increase of the voltage would result in a quicker response during stimulation.Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering