PoLS at Georgia Tech
@gtpols.bsky.social
This is the official Bluesky profile for the Physics of Living Systems node at Georgia Tech.
https://pols.gatech.edu
https://pols.gatech.edu
These dyads form even when the robots have no ability to modulate their gait. However, a force-sensing feedback loop can increase the lifetime of the dyad, and therefore the distance traveled by the pair.
May 7, 2025 at 8:07 PM
These dyads form even when the robots have no ability to modulate their gait. However, a force-sensing feedback loop can increase the lifetime of the dyad, and therefore the distance traveled by the pair.
When motion was initiated for seven densely-packed smarticles, it was expected that they would push each other away and expand to a relaxed state. Instead, 64% of trials formed long-lived pairs of robots, called "dyads", which moved together for more than 100 gait periods.
May 7, 2025 at 8:07 PM
When motion was initiated for seven densely-packed smarticles, it was expected that they would push each other away and expand to a relaxed state. Instead, 64% of trials formed long-lived pairs of robots, called "dyads", which moved together for more than 100 gait periods.
The robots, dubbed "smarticles", are formed from three links and two motors, inspired by Purcell’s three-link swimmer. The motion of the arms causes the smarticles to repel one another, but they are unable to move significant distances on their own.
May 7, 2025 at 8:07 PM
The robots, dubbed "smarticles", are formed from three links and two motors, inspired by Purcell’s three-link swimmer. The motion of the arms causes the smarticles to repel one another, but they are unable to move significant distances on their own.
Actively-driven #robots can produce a rich variety of emergent phenomena, including behaviors that appear counterintuitive at first. In a recent preprint from the Goldman Lab at @gtresearchnews.bsky.social, undulating robots form long-lived pairs mediated solely by repulsive interactions.
May 7, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Actively-driven #robots can produce a rich variety of emergent phenomena, including behaviors that appear counterintuitive at first. In a recent preprint from the Goldman Lab at @gtresearchnews.bsky.social, undulating robots form long-lived pairs mediated solely by repulsive interactions.
Check out these birds, courtesy of Nami Ha! Nami and the
@bhamlalab.bsky.social at Georgia Tech studies the amazing materials that make up living things, including the ultrafast water absorption of sandgrouse feathers.
@bhamlalab.bsky.social at Georgia Tech studies the amazing materials that make up living things, including the ultrafast water absorption of sandgrouse feathers.
May 5, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Check out these birds, courtesy of Nami Ha! Nami and the
@bhamlalab.bsky.social at Georgia Tech studies the amazing materials that make up living things, including the ultrafast water absorption of sandgrouse feathers.
@bhamlalab.bsky.social at Georgia Tech studies the amazing materials that make up living things, including the ultrafast water absorption of sandgrouse feathers.
Please join us this Thursday for the final PoLS Lunch & Learn of the semester! This week's speaker will be @sacrozhangt.bsky.social from the Hammer and @wcratcliff.bsky.social labs.
April 14, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Please join us this Thursday for the final PoLS Lunch & Learn of the semester! This week's speaker will be @sacrozhangt.bsky.social from the Hammer and @wcratcliff.bsky.social labs.
The @bhamlalab.bsky.social is looking to hire a new lab manager! See the flyer below for details!
April 11, 2025 at 7:09 PM
The @bhamlalab.bsky.social is looking to hire a new lab manager! See the flyer below for details!
Please join us today for another Lunch & Learn seminar! This week's speaker is Maryam Hejri from the Yunker Lab. Lunch will be served at 12:00, with a talk beginning at 12:30!
April 10, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Please join us today for another Lunch & Learn seminar! This week's speaker is Maryam Hejri from the Yunker Lab. Lunch will be served at 12:00, with a talk beginning at 12:30!
They built a mechanical model showing that phase lags result from a combination of internal elastic torques and external resistive forces. The worm's gait pattern is not purely neural—it's shaped by physics!
April 7, 2025 at 4:16 PM
They built a mechanical model showing that phase lags result from a combination of internal elastic torques and external resistive forces. The worm's gait pattern is not purely neural—it's shaped by physics!
In low viscosity media, these phase lags are evenly distributed across the body. In viscous buffer, or in agar, the phase lag grows along the body before dropping near the tail.
April 7, 2025 at 4:16 PM
In low viscosity media, these phase lags are evenly distributed across the body. In viscous buffer, or in agar, the phase lag grows along the body before dropping near the tail.
Using calcium imaging, the Goldman Lab was able to measure the difference in phase between undulatory movements and the activation waves that cause them—called neuromechanical phase lags (NPLs). The NPLs vary with medium, including fluids of different viscosity and agar.
April 7, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Using calcium imaging, the Goldman Lab was able to measure the difference in phase between undulatory movements and the activation waves that cause them—called neuromechanical phase lags (NPLs). The NPLs vary with medium, including fluids of different viscosity and agar.
Animals at many length scales move through undulation. In a new paper, Chris Pierce and the Goldman Lab use the nematode 🪱 C. elegans to show how interactions with the environment cause undulating body movements to become desynchronized to the phase of muscle contractions.
April 7, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Animals at many length scales move through undulation. In a new paper, Chris Pierce and the Goldman Lab use the nematode 🪱 C. elegans to show how interactions with the environment cause undulating body movements to become desynchronized to the phase of muscle contractions.
This week's Lunch & Learn speaker is @doshna.bsky.social from the Sponberg Lab! Please come see his talk tomorrow!
April 2, 2025 at 4:26 PM
This week's Lunch & Learn speaker is @doshna.bsky.social from the Sponberg Lab! Please come see his talk tomorrow!
Today! Join us for a PoLS seminar featuring Dr. Abdul Malmi-Kakkada, an Assistant Professor of Physics at Augusta University! Dr. Malmi-Kakkada is a computational biophysicist with expertise in cell-cell signaling and cell-substrate mechanical interactions.
We will begin at 3:00 in Howey N201!
We will begin at 3:00 in Howey N201!
April 1, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Today! Join us for a PoLS seminar featuring Dr. Abdul Malmi-Kakkada, an Assistant Professor of Physics at Augusta University! Dr. Malmi-Kakkada is a computational biophysicist with expertise in cell-cell signaling and cell-substrate mechanical interactions.
We will begin at 3:00 in Howey N201!
We will begin at 3:00 in Howey N201!
Please join us on April 15 for a PoLS seminar featuring Dr. Shucong Li!
Dr. Li recently became an Assistant Professor at the Georgia Tech School of Materials Science and Engineering. She will be hosted by Dr. Zeb Rocklin.
Dr. Li recently became an Assistant Professor at the Georgia Tech School of Materials Science and Engineering. She will be hosted by Dr. Zeb Rocklin.
March 28, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Please join us on April 15 for a PoLS seminar featuring Dr. Shucong Li!
Dr. Li recently became an Assistant Professor at the Georgia Tech School of Materials Science and Engineering. She will be hosted by Dr. Zeb Rocklin.
Dr. Li recently became an Assistant Professor at the Georgia Tech School of Materials Science and Engineering. She will be hosted by Dr. Zeb Rocklin.
PoLS faculty Dan Goldman has been named a lifetime fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of #Science (@aaas.org)!
Congratulations to Dan, and also to the six other @gtresearchnews.bsky.social honorees named this year!
Congratulations to Dan, and also to the six other @gtresearchnews.bsky.social honorees named this year!
March 27, 2025 at 6:28 PM
PoLS faculty Dan Goldman has been named a lifetime fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of #Science (@aaas.org)!
Congratulations to Dan, and also to the six other @gtresearchnews.bsky.social honorees named this year!
Congratulations to Dan, and also to the six other @gtresearchnews.bsky.social honorees named this year!
Longer, more flexible filaments are more effective at aggregating small particles. Motion is also essential—filaments use an "active swiping" behavior to gather these particles together. The width of this swiping motion is the key parameter that governs clustering.
March 26, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Longer, more flexible filaments are more effective at aggregating small particles. Motion is also essential—filaments use an "active swiping" behavior to gather these particles together. The width of this swiping motion is the key parameter that governs clustering.
Their new preprint explores particle aggregation mediated by three kinds of active filaments:
🪱 Living tubifex worms in Petri dishes
💻 Simulated, actively driven filaments
🤖 Robotic filaments made from hexbug robots
The result: flexibility is key
🪱 Living tubifex worms in Petri dishes
💻 Simulated, actively driven filaments
🤖 Robotic filaments made from hexbug robots
The result: flexibility is key
March 26, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Their new preprint explores particle aggregation mediated by three kinds of active filaments:
🪱 Living tubifex worms in Petri dishes
💻 Simulated, actively driven filaments
🤖 Robotic filaments made from hexbug robots
The result: flexibility is key
🪱 Living tubifex worms in Petri dishes
💻 Simulated, actively driven filaments
🤖 Robotic filaments made from hexbug robots
The result: flexibility is key
Can wriggling #worms inspire new principles in robot design? A new preprint from the @bhamlalab.bsky.social, in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam and @sorbonne-universite.fr, describes how active filaments—like living worms—can efficiently gather tiny particles in confined spaces.
March 26, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Can wriggling #worms inspire new principles in robot design? A new preprint from the @bhamlalab.bsky.social, in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam and @sorbonne-universite.fr, describes how active filaments—like living worms—can efficiently gather tiny particles in confined spaces.
Lunch & Learn is back this week! Please join us this Thursday for a talk from @pbravo.bsky.social from the Yunker Lab!
March 24, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Lunch & Learn is back this week! Please join us this Thursday for a talk from @pbravo.bsky.social from the Yunker Lab!
Congratulations to the whole PoLS community on another successful @apsphysics.bsky.social Global Physics Summit! We look forward to seeing all of you again in Denver next year!
March 21, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Congratulations to the whole PoLS community on another successful @apsphysics.bsky.social Global Physics Summit! We look forward to seeing all of you again in Denver next year!
This year's @apsphysics.bsky.social Global Summit is well underway in lovely Anaheim, California!
Our illustrious Dan Goldman was invited to give the opening talk at this morning's Robophysics session: A Decade of Robophysics at the APS March Meeting!
Our illustrious Dan Goldman was invited to give the opening talk at this morning's Robophysics session: A Decade of Robophysics at the APS March Meeting!
March 18, 2025 at 5:51 PM
This year's @apsphysics.bsky.social Global Summit is well underway in lovely Anaheim, California!
Our illustrious Dan Goldman was invited to give the opening talk at this morning's Robophysics session: A Decade of Robophysics at the APS March Meeting!
Our illustrious Dan Goldman was invited to give the opening talk at this morning's Robophysics session: A Decade of Robophysics at the APS March Meeting!
Please join us tomorrow for another PoLS Lunch & Learn! This week's speaker is Aradhya Rajanala from the Goldman Lab!
March 12, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Please join us tomorrow for another PoLS Lunch & Learn! This week's speaker is Aradhya Rajanala from the Goldman Lab!
It's #Biomechanics Day at @zooatl.bsky.social! GT PoLS is always happy to reach out to the community. A big thanks to Tianyu Wang and all of the other students who helped make today happen!
March 8, 2025 at 8:48 PM
It's #Biomechanics Day at @zooatl.bsky.social! GT PoLS is always happy to reach out to the community. A big thanks to Tianyu Wang and all of the other students who helped make today happen!