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Example Tutorials

1. Belly Flopper.
This is the most basic of the tutorials. It goes into more depth about how to do simple things like collect data and create a project and a biomechanical organism from scratch. During this tutorial you build a simple biomechanical organism that can move around under its own power.
Video Tutorial, Part 1: (28 MB, 30 Minutes) Shows you how to build the body of this biomechanical organism.
Video Tutorial, Part 2: (56 MB, 46 Minutes) Shows you how to build the neural network to control the biomechanical organism.
2. Crayfish. (835 Kb, 27 Seconds)
This is the current model of the crayfish tailflip simulation that has been built. You can view this simulation selecting the "Open Project" item from the File menu. Navigate to the C:\Program Files\AnimatLab\Tutorials\Examples\Crayfish project folder and select the Crayfish.aproj file. Hit the play button on the simulation control bar to view the simulation.
2. Hexapod. (6.7 Mb, 54 Seconds)
This is a hexapod robot that can walk at a variety of speeds, turn it direction of walk, detect when it has encountered an obstacle and walk over it.
4. Limb Stiffness. (47 MB, 30 Minutes)
This tutorial demonstrates how to use muscle stiffness to position a limb at a desired location using equilibrium points. This uses the properties of the muscles to maintain the arm at that location even when it is disturbed. You also learn how to move from one position to the another simply by changing the equilibrium set point.
5. Locust.
This project is a detailed model of jumping in locust. Properties for the model were taken directly from the literature. Building a virtual locust allows us to perform experiments that would be difficult, or impossible, in the real animal.
6. Predator-Prey. (57 MB, 36 Minutes)
This tutorial shows you how to build a simple predator object that can track prey using scent. When the prey gets too close the predator shoots out its tongue to catch and immobilize it. Then it can feed on it to replenish its energy stores so it can remain alive.
7. Stretch Reflex. (57 MB, 36 Minutes)
This tutorial builds on the limb stiffness tutorial to implement the classic stretch reflex that can be found in most introductory neurobiology textbooks. Gamma motor neuron coactivation modulates stretch receptors so they can be used to detect errors in movements when comparing predicted to actual movements.
7. Human Stretch Reflex. (5 MB, 3 Minutes)
This tutorial demonstrates a human myotactic reflex response. It was produced for our paper on the AnimatLab system.
8. Touch Receptors. (40 MB, 29 Minutes)
This tutorial shows how to add a sense of touch to your biomechanical organisms by adding pressure sensitive receptive fields to the surface of objects. The tutorial shows you how to build a piece of virtual skin that is probed at different points to produce different responses in a population of six sensory neurons.