Title: Control of elongate systems adapted for complex environments 

Date: Tuesday, May 26th, 2026

Time: 8am ET

Location: Howey N201 (zoom)

Madison Hales

Robotics Ph.D. Student

Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology

Committee:

Dr. Daniel I. Goldman (advisor) – School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. David Hu – Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Tony Chen – Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Noah J. Cowan - Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Jason Bariteau – Emory School of Medicine, Emory University

Abstract: Living systems have evolved over millennia to navigate through a complex world. As such, they provide invaluable physical insight and engineering inspiration for movement through unstructured terrain.  This thesis proposal examines two systems that achieve robust movement through complex environments with slender, elongated, highly actuated morphologies: one biological and one engineered. First, we look to rice roots, which navigate heterogenous soil using a decentralized control scheme based on local cell-to-cell interactions. In aim 1, we utilize a control theory framework to understand the role of gravitropic feedback in dynamic navigation. We applied sinusoidal stimulus to growing rice roots, establishing a frequency response relationship. We fit linear transfer functions, implicating an intercellular signaling delay, and propose ongoing work to capture nonlinear behavior. In aim 2, we examine the relationship between gravitropism and circumnutation, the helical motion of rice roots as they penetrate soil. We report entrainment and cancellation in the interaction of these processes and propose simulation- and experiment-based techniques to further understand them. In aim 3, we shift focus to multilegged elongate robots. These robots leverage principles of locomotion discovered in centipedes to achieve reliable locomotion through heterogenous terrain. However, there is currently no protocol for how they can exploit their highly actuated, deformable bodies to grasp objects in their environment. To this end, we have developed a miniaturized multilegged elongate robot for investigating this capability, and report on its ability to grasp and carry various objects. Together, these studies advance our understanding of how biological principles can give rise to robust, adaptive movement in complex environments.