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[pt] Este trabalho apresenta um projeto mecânico de um robô lagartixa pneumática, capaz de se locomover em superfícies inclinadas em relação ao solo, através apenas de atuadores lineares que utilizam o ar comprimido como fonte de energia. Como parte fundamental do projeto mecânico neste trabalho, um sistema de garra é desenvolvido gerando vácuo mecanicamente, para haver uma economia de consumo energético no robô em comparação com os acessórios comerciais geralmente utilizados para esta tarefa de fixação. Com o protótipo de conceito fabricado e montado, o mesmo é submetido a uma bateria de testes com o intuito de posteriormente aplicar os dados obtidos em uma rede neural artificial, visando o aprendizado computacional dos movimentos do robô e, assim, sua otimização de velocidade em determinada sequência de movimentação. Após o treinamento desta rede neural, o protótipo é submetido a novos experimentos para verificar a eficiência do treinamento realizado e qual o impacto real obtido no robô. Finalmente, com a utilização de um sistema de câmeras, os deslocamentos do robô em diversas situações distintas são rastreados, visando gerar gráficos comparativos e analisar a repetibilidade e confiabilidade do sistema. / [en] This work presents the mechanical design of a pneumatic gecko robot, capable of moving on inclined surfaces with respect to the ground, using only linear actuators with compressed air as a source of energy. As a fundamental part of the mechanical design in this work, a claw system is developed by generating vacuum mechanically, significantly reducing the energy consumption of the robot when compared to commercial accessories generally used for this clamping task. With the concept prototype manufactured and assembled, a series of tests are conducted to later apply the collected data in an artificial neural network. This network allows the computational learning of the robot movements, and thus its speed optimization for a certain defined gait. After training this neural network, the prototype is submitted to new experiments to verify the efficiency of the training performed and the real impact obtained on the robot. Furthermore, with the use of a camera system, the movements of the robot along several different situations are tracked, generating comparative graphs to analyze the repeatability and reliability of the system.

Abundance, distribution and habitat preferences of the lizard species present on Motunau Island, off the Canterbury coast of New Zealand, were investigated. The aim of the study was to investigate the extent to which recent vegetation change on Motunau Island has effected the lizard community and what implications this has for the future management of the Island. Three species of lizard occur on Motunau Island; the common gecko (Hoplodactylus maculatus), common skink (Oligosoma nigriplantare polychroma) and spotted skink (O. lineoocellatum). Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were present on the island from 1862 until their eradication in 1962. Since then, vegetation on the island has changed from being tussock-dominated to being dominated by exotic weeds. Data from lizard pitfall trap surveys carried out in 1967-75 by Tony Whitaker of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) were compared with new pitfall trapping data to determine if changes in the lizard population had occurred in response to these vegetation changes. The abundance of O. n. polychroma and H. maculatus does not appear to change significantly. The distribution of these two species were significantly correlated but neither showed any preference for a particular type. The abundance of O. lineoocellatum was significantly greater in 1996/97 than in the earlier DSlR surveys. This could be a result of the vegetation becoming more open and more structurally complex since the early surveys. This would offer greater opportunities for O. lineoocellatum (which is strongly heliothermic) to thermoregulate and forage. O. lineoocellatum showed no consistent significant preference towards any habitat type, although they tended to be found more in 'margin' habitat. Research into pitfall trapping and the way lizard behaviour may influence pitfall trapping data needs to be undertaken as there is a possible trap bias in this study. Management of Motunau Island needs to ensure that a structurally complex environment is maintained to ensure high numbers of all three lizard species can continue to coexist.

Adhezní schopnosti gekona byly předmětem mnoha studií a inspirací pro vytvoření mnoha napodobenin. Tato práce navrhuje vlastní verzi umělých gekoních struktur ve tvaru mikroskopických pilířů, které by vykazovaly adhezní vlastnosti srovnatelné s tlapkou gekona. Vyrobeny byli struktury z polymeru Parylen C pomocí fotolitografie a technik na leptání křemíku. Dalším cílem bylo různými metodami pro modifikaci povrchu a charakterizaci vytvořených struktur, které určí adhezní síly těchto povrchů, před a po modifikacích.