Single motor actuated peristaltic wave generator for a soft bodied worm robot

Winstone, Benjamin; Pipe, Anthony G.; Melhuish, Chris; Callaway, Mark; Etoundi, Appolinaire; Dogramadzi, Sanja

Abstract

This paper presents the design and development of a single motor actuated peristaltic worm robot with three segments using a bio-inspired method of locomotion with one actuator that achieves optimised worm like peristaltic motion. Each segment consists of two solid circular disks that have a tendon connected through to the drive mechanism using a Bowden cable and a soft rubber skin that deforms under the compression of the tendon. Our hypothesis that a tuned peristaltic waveform can achieve improved performance of locomotion distance and clamping strength is proven using an initial test platform capable of demonstrating varying waveform types with multiple actuators. Three experiments were undertaken: (i) moving along a flat surface, (ii) moving through a confined tunnel (iii) moving through a confined tunnel whilst pulling a payload. Results from these experiments have identified the optimal parameters for a smart gearbox capable of achieving the same optimal peristaltic waveform signal as the more complex test platform but with only one actuator driving all three worm segments. Unlike other examples of peristaltic worm robots, this example uses a control method embedded within the mechanics of the design removing excessive number of actuators which contributes to miniaturisation, reduces power consumption and simplifies the overall design.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: BioRob 2016 - IEEE International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics
• Start Date: Jun 26, 2016
• End Date: Jun 29, 2016
• Acceptance Date: Apr 30, 2016
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jul 18, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 22, 2016
• Print ISSN: 2155-1782
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Book Title: 6th IEEE International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob), 2016
• ISBN: 9781509032884
• Keywords: Bioinspired robotics, soft robotics, biomimetics
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/910419
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/BIOROB.2016.7523668
• Additional Information: Additional Information : © 2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.; Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : BioRob 2016 - IEEE International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics
• Contract Date: Jul 18, 2016