Ever really feel run off your toes? Spare a thought for sea stars, creatures whose motion entails the coordination of tons of of tiny tube toes to navigate advanced environments – regardless of the shortage of a central “mind”.
In different phrases, it’s as if every foot has a thoughts of its personal. For Kanso Bioinspired Motion Lab, primarily based throughout the University of Southern California Viterbi Division of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering, sea stars pose an intriguing phenomenon.
Kanso Lab focuses on decoding the move physics of dwelling methods, typically making use of these insights to tell developments in robotics.
Now, researchers at USC are uncovering the key behind this decentralized locomotion. This might revolutionize how we design autonomous robots.
One thought per foot
The lab’s latest paper in PNAS, “Tube toes dynamics drive adaptation in sea star locomotion” (January 13, 2026), reveals that the motion of sea stars is directed by native suggestions from particular person tube toes, every dynamically adjusting their adhesion to the floor in response to various levels of mechanical pressure.
“We started engaged on sea stars with McHenry Lab at UC Irvine, and later partnered with biologists on the College of Mons in Belgium,” mentioned Eva Kanso, director of Kanso Lab and professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering, physics and astronomy.
“Along with Affiliate Professor Sylvain Gabriele and graduate pupil Amandine Deridoux on the SYMBIOSE Lab, we designed a particular 3D-printed “backpack” for the ocean star. By loading and unloading the backpack, we might observe and measure how every tube foot responded to the added weight.”
What did the researchers uncover? Every foot responded independently to altering masses.
“From the outset, we hypothesized that sea stars depend on a hierarchical and distributed management technique, wherein every tube foot makes native selections about when to connect and detach from the floor primarily based on native mechanical cues, quite than being directed by a central controller,” mentioned Kanso.
The experiments allowed the crew to check and quantify these native responses. “At USC, we developed a mathematical mannequin exhibiting how easy, native management guidelines, coupled by way of the mechanics of the physique, can provide rise to coordinated, whole-animal locomotion.”
No mind, no downside
This mannequin for adaptive motion primarily based on native suggestions is very related to the design of soppy and multi-contact robotics.
Potential software on land, underneath water and even on different planets, embody decentralized locomotion methods for robots navigating uneven, vertical and upside-down terrain – environments that forestall constant communication from a central “mission management” or human decision-maker. No mind? No downside.
“We additionally performed experiments wherein we turned the ocean star upside-down – the morphology of the tube toes permits the ocean star to proceed to maneuver,” mentioned Kanso.
“Simply think about when you had been doing a handstand. Your nervous system would instantly let you realize that you simply had been ready against gravity. However a sea star has no such collective recognition.”
Robustness by way of redundancy
As an alternative, the ocean star is provided with the native information of every tube foot experiencing the drive of gravity otherwise. Coordinated motion is because of the truth the toes are mechanically linked to the physique; when one foot pushes, the motion impacts different toes.
Consequently, native failures don’t essentially halt the entire system – permitting for superior robustness and resilience.
That’s a major benefit for autonomous robots navigating excessive environments, liable to flip, lose or acquire load, or be disconnected from central communication supply.
Whereas fast-moving animals (from bugs to gymnasts) depend on “central sample turbines” – specialised neural circuits positioned within the brainstem that produce rhythmic motor patters – slow-moving sea stars are primed to adapt dynamically to environmental modifications.
So, it turns on the market are some perks to being brainless. Whether or not a sea star is navigating tidal forces, currents or various terrain roughness, they adapt and drift.
