Abstract
How do elephant trunks generate complex postures without relying solely on fine segmental activation? We propose that part of this complexity arises from a low-dimensional geometric shortcut: dual-helicity coupling between opposite-handed oblique muscles. In a simplified soft-robotic prototype, varying only two geometric parameters generates a broad library of elephant-like postures, suggesting a dual-layer control architecture with implications for continuum robot design and biological hypotheses.
Keywords
Publication details
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Cite this article
APA 7
Huang, H., Chen, D., Preti, M. L., Liu, J., Ang, M. H., & Laschi, C. (2026). Geometric Shortcuts for Complex Trunk Postures: Dual-Helicity Coupling Enables Low-Dimensional Control. https://omanscience.com/en/articles/geometric-shortcuts-for-complex-trunk-postures-dual-helicity-coupling-enables-low-dimensional-control
MLA 9
Huang, Huishi, et al. "Geometric Shortcuts for Complex Trunk Postures: Dual-Helicity Coupling Enables Low-Dimensional Control." https://omanscience.com/en/articles/geometric-shortcuts-for-complex-trunk-postures-dual-helicity-coupling-enables-low-dimensional-control.
Chicago (author–date)
Huang, Huishi, Danlu Chen, Matteo Lo Preti, Jun Liu, Marcelo H. Ang, and Cecilia Laschi. 2026. "Geometric Shortcuts for Complex Trunk Postures: Dual-Helicity Coupling Enables Low-Dimensional Control." https://omanscience.com/en/articles/geometric-shortcuts-for-complex-trunk-postures-dual-helicity-coupling-enables-low-dimensional-control.
Harvard
Huang, H., Chen, D., Preti, M. L., Liu, J., Ang, M. H. and Laschi, C. (2026) 'Geometric Shortcuts for Complex Trunk Postures: Dual-Helicity Coupling Enables Low-Dimensional Control', Available at: https://omanscience.com/en/articles/geometric-shortcuts-for-complex-trunk-postures-dual-helicity-coupling-enables-low-dimensional-control.
Vancouver
Huang H, Chen D, Preti ML, Liu J, Ang MH, Laschi C. Geometric Shortcuts for Complex Trunk Postures: Dual-Helicity Coupling Enables Low-Dimensional Control. https://omanscience.com/en/articles/geometric-shortcuts-for-complex-trunk-postures-dual-helicity-coupling-enables-low-dimensional-control
IEEE
H. Huang, D. Chen, M. L. Preti, J. Liu, M. H. Ang, and C. Laschi, "Geometric Shortcuts for Complex Trunk Postures: Dual-Helicity Coupling Enables Low-Dimensional Control," https://omanscience.com/en/articles/geometric-shortcuts-for-complex-trunk-postures-dual-helicity-coupling-enables-low-dimensional-control.