Fresno Biological Dynamics Studio

Fresno Biological Dynamics Studio is a biomechanical research facility, funded by the National Science Foundation, that enables scientists to film and analyze fast movements of animals and machines, in the lab and in the field. We have several high-speed digital cameras that can record animal and plant dynamics in unprecedented detail.  A fruitfly downstroke is pictured above at intervals of 1/10 000 of a second.

FBDS can help you to investigate propulsion mechanisms, muscle performance, and control systems;  you can study integrative behaviors such as predator-prey interactions.  We can help you to record, track, and model the position and shape of an organism in three dimensions.  If you are interested in using our facilities, please contact Ulrike Müller

We are located on the campus of California State University, Fresno.  The filming studio is the backbone of three collaborative research groups, lead by

Ulrike Muller  (Biology)

Joy Goto  (Chemistry)

Yu Cao  (Computer Science)

Our main research questions are:   How do organisms power and control their motion during turns, leaps, fights, take-offs, and feeding strikes?   and   How do changes in an organism's structural properties and sensory feedback affect control and performance?

 

At right, a trained tilapia is filmed from below as it completes a 45-degree turn from a standstill.  The kinematics of its center of mass and midline curvature wave are tracked by computer, below.   LEARN MORE