Arthropod‐Metamerism‐Inspired Resonant Piezoelectric Millirobot

Abstract

Miniaturization, fast motion, high resolution, high agility, and good adaptability are relatively contradictory characteristics in mobile robot design. It is indeed a challenge to satisfy these performances at the same time. Inspired by the arthropod metamerism in nature, herein, a millirobot composed of three piezoelectric segments is proposed. The millirobot is tethered for power, and the whole size of the millirobot is 58 Â 44 Â 12 mm; it uses several principles of arthropod locomotion, can carry loads and cross obstacles, and also has the rapidity and agility like a centipede through the coordination of multiple piezoelectric segments. Fast motion with a maximum speed of 516 mm s À1 is realized by operating at resonant mode, and stepping motion with a resolution of 0.44 μm is achieved by the pulsed sinusoidal mode. The widest speed range among published reports of millirobots is achieved (from 4.5e À3 to 9 BL s À1 ). Its agility surpasses other piezoelectric millirobots; the linear, steering, and rotational motions are performed and switched flexibly. The results show that fast motion, high resolution, wide speed range, high agility, large load capacity, good adaptability, and miniaturization are successfully achieved by the millirobot.

A Biomimetic Piezoelectric Composite‐Driven Undulation Underwater Robotic Structure: Characteristic Analysis and Experimental Investigation

“…[28][29][30][31][32] Therefore, dynamic analysis of piezoelectric actuators plays a significant role in their design and optimization to understand their dynamic behavior. [33][34][35] However, there is currently a lack of simulation and analysis methods to investigate the undulation characteristics and transient time-domain behavior of piezoelectric bimorphs, presenting an ongoing challenge. [36] Finite element analysis (FEA) has been extensively utilized as a valuable tool in the design and engineering of integrated piezoelectric actuators.…”

Miniature Amphibious Robot Actuated by Rigid‐Flexible Hybrid Vibration Modules

“…The vibration‐based micro‐robots can be realized by piezoelectric actuators, dielectric elastomer actuators, or electromagnetic actuators. The first two actuators usually require complex excitation source to generate specific signal with high voltage or high frequency, [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ] which makes it difficult to achieve power integration and restricts the miniaturization. The electromagnetic actuators can be directly powered by low‐voltage supply, thus it is convenient to be integrated and further realize a large motion range.…”

Review on the Vibration Suppression of Cantilever Beam through Piezoelectric Materials

“…Reproduced with permission. [ 2 ] Copyright 2021, Advanced Intelligent Systems. d) Magnetic‐resonance Tomograph.…”