Bionic Design of Multi-Toe Quadruped Robot for Planetary Surface Exploration

Chen, Guangming; Qiao, Long; Wang, Binghe; Richter, Lutz; Ji, Aihong

doi:10.3390/machines10100827

Cited by 7 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 47 publications

(61 reference statements)

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“…Compared to Lemur [ 16 ], fewer and more flexible toes are used, which reduce the structure complexity and is beneficial to efficient control. Moreover, the design of creeping legs enables a lower center mass and higher stability which is more advantageous compared to a stand–walking robot [ 19 ]. Specifically, the leg adopts a four-linkage structure which ensures steady lift of the foot.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifically, the leg adopts a four-linkage structure which ensures steady lift of the foot. Therefore, the structure for this robot can perform a move stable movement than our previous model [ 19 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To further demonstrate that the robot is suitable for rocky environments, external tests were conducted and are shown in Figure 15 . It can be identified that the left hind leg of the robot can climb across a rock, indicating that this improved robot model has better performance compared with the previous work [ 19 ].…”

Section: Experimental Testsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Among the legged rovers, the quadrupedal robots are distinguished from other legged robots in producing effective motions with relatively uncomplicated structure [ 18 ]. Our previous model of a desert Chameleon-inspired robot has successfully demonstrated the potential of adapting to Mars surface terrains [ 19 ]. Moreover, the flexible spine enables larger strides compared to rigid trunks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development of a Lizard-Inspired Robot for Mars Surface Exploration

Chen

Qiao²,

Zhou³

et al. 2023

Biomimetics

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Exploring Mars is beneficial to increasing our knowledge, understanding the possibility of ancient microbial life there, and discovering new resources beyond the Earth to prepare for future human missions to Mars. To assist ambitious uncrewed missions to Mars, specific types of planetary rovers have been developed for performing tasks on Mars’ surface. Due to the fact that the surface is composed of granular soils and rocks of various sizes, contemporary rovers can have difficulties in moving on soft soils and climbing over rocks. To overcome such difficulties, this research develops a quadruped creeping robot inspired by the locomotion characteristics of the desert lizard. This biomimetic robot features a flexible spine, which allows swinging movements during locomotion. The leg structure utilizes a four-linkage mechanism, which ensures a steady lifting motion. The foot consists of an active ankle and a round pad with four flexible toes that are effective in grasping soils and rocks. To determine robot motions, kinematic models relating to foot, leg, and spine are established. Moreover, the coordinated motions between the trunk spine and leg are numerically verified. In addition, the mobility on granular soils and rocky surface are experimentally demonstrated, which can imply that this biomimetic robot is suitable for Mars surface terrains.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Experimental Testsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development of a Lizard-Inspired Robot for Mars Surface Exploration

Chen

Qiao²,

Zhou³

et al. 2023

Biomimetics

Self Cite

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“…While biomimetic robots can improve transversal abilities over various terrains [20,21], our research team's focus has been chosen to be on biomimetic quadrupedal robots for planetary exploration [22,23]. The key features of our robots include flexible spine that bends in coordination with leg motions [24], and flexible toes capable of freely grasping surfaces.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomimetic lizard robot for adapting to Martian surface terrain

Chen,

Qiao,

Zhou

et al. 2024

Bioinspir. Biomim.

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The exploration of the planet Mars still is a top priority in planetary science because of the Earth-like character of Mars in the past and possibility it may have hosted microbial life when liquid water abounded on its surface. The surfaces of Mars are extensively covered with soil-like material and rocks of various sizes. Current wheeled rovers on Mars have been occasionally experiencing immobilization instances in unexpectedly weak terrain. The development of Mars rovers adaptable to these terrains is instrumental in improving exploration efficiency and expanding investigation scope. Many desert animals exhibit excellent traversal abilities on both granular media and rocky terrains. Inspired by moving mechanisms of the desert lizard, a biomimetic quadruped robot with structures of flexible active spine and toes was designed. Gait planning accounts for spine motion in coordination to foot movements. Three gaits of tripod, trot and turning are adopted by the robot and the motions are conceptually and numerically analyzed. On the soil and rocky terrains analog to Martian surface, the gasping force by the flexible toes are estimated, and field tests for assessing traversal abilities of the robot have been conducted. The traversing abilities by the field tests conclude that this biomimetic robot can adapt to Martian surface terrain.

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Intelligent Rock‐Climbing Robot Capable of Multimodal Locomotion and Hybrid Bioinspired Attachment

Zi,

Xu,

Chen

et al. 2024

Advanced Science

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Rock‐climbing robots have significant potential in fieldwork and planetary exploration. However, they currently face limitations such as a lack of stability and adaptability on extreme terrains, slow locomotion, and single functionality. This study introduces a novel multimodal and adaptive rock‐climbing robot (MARCBot), which addresses these limitations through spiny grippers that draw inspiration from morpho‐functionalities observed in beetles, arboreal birds, and hoofed animals. This hybrid bioinspired design enables high attachment strength, passive adaptability to different terrains, and quick attachment on rock surfaces. The multimodal functionality of the gripper allows for attachment during climbing and support during walking. A novel control strategy using dynamics and quadratic programming (QP) optimizes attachment wrench distribution, reducing cost‐of‐transport by 20.03% and 6.05% compared to closed‐loop inverse kinematic (CLIK) and virtual model control (VMC) methods, respectively. MARCBot achieved climbing speeds of 0.15 m min−1 on a vertical discrete rock surface under gravity and trotting speeds of up to 0.21 m s−1 on various complex terrains. It is the first robot capable of climbing on rock surfaces and trotting in complex terrains without the need for switching end‐effectors. This study highlights significant advancements in climbing and multimodal locomotion for robots in extreme environments.

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Bionic Design of Multi-Toe Quadruped Robot for Planetary Surface Exploration

Cited by 7 publications

References 47 publications

Development of a Lizard-Inspired Robot for Mars Surface Exploration

Development of a Lizard-Inspired Robot for Mars Surface Exploration

Biomimetic lizard robot for adapting to Martian surface terrain

Intelligent Rock‐Climbing Robot Capable of Multimodal Locomotion and Hybrid Bioinspired Attachment

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