The Design and Testing of RoboClam: A Machine Used to Investigate and Optimize Razor Clam-Inspired Burrowing Mechanisms for Engineering Applications

Winter, Amos G.; Hosoi, A. E.; Slocum, Alexander H.; Deits, Robin

doi:10.1115/detc2009-86808

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This approach has evolved from the lever-controlled, aluminum-epoxy, "burrowing" shell models of Stanley [40] to sophisticated, self-propelled, bivalve robots that mimic the size, shape, and burrowing movements of their live counterparts [41][42][43][44][45][46]. The application of robotics to problems in ichnology has great potential for providing valuable data unobtainable by other means, for example in evaluating burrowing of hypothetical animals having morphologies or behaviors not seen in nature.…”

Section: Aims Of the Research Discussed Herementioning

confidence: 99%

Escape Burrowing of Modern Freshwater Bivalves as a Paradigm for Escape Behavior in the Devonian Bivalve Archanodon catskillensis

Knoll¹,

Chamberlain

2017

Geosciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many freshwater bivalves restore themselves to the sediment water interface after burial by upward escape burrowing. We studied the escape burrowing capacity of two modern unionoids, Elliptio complanata and Pyganodon cataracta and the invasive freshwater venerid Corbicula fluminea, in a controlled laboratory setting varying sediment grain size and burial depth. We found that the relatively streamlined E. complanata is a better escape burrower than the more obese P. cataracta. E. complanata is more likely to escape burial in both fine and coarse sand, and at faster rates than P. cataracta. However, successful escape from 10 cm burial, especially in fine sand, is unlikely for both unionoids. The comparatively small and obese C. fluminea outperforms both unionoids in terms of escape probability and escape time, especially when body size is taken into consideration. C. fluminea can escape burial depths many times its own size, while the two unionoids rarely escape from burial equivalent to the length of their shells. E. complanata, and particularly P. cataracta, are morphological paradigms for the extinct Devonian unionoid bivalve Archanodon catskillensis, common in riverine facies of the Devonian Catskill Delta Complex of the eastern United States. Our observations suggest that the escape burrowing capability of A. catskillensis was no better than that of P. cataracta. Archanodon catskillensis was likely unable to escape burial of more than a few centimeters of anastrophically deposited sediment. The long (up to 1 meter), vertical burrows that are associated with A. catskillensis, and interpreted to be its escape burrows, represent a response to episodic, small-scale sedimentation events due to patterns of repetitive hydrologic or weather-related phenomena. They are not a response to a single anastrophic event involving the influx of massive volumes of sediment.

show abstract

Section: Aims Of the Research Discussed Herementioning

confidence: 99%

Escape Burrowing of Modern Freshwater Bivalves as a Paradigm for Escape Behavior in the Devonian Bivalve Archanodon catskillensis

Knoll¹,

Chamberlain

2017

Geosciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The end effector was made from alloy 932 (SAE 660) bearing bronze and 440 C stainless steel, because both materials are saltwater compatible and have a low coefficient of sliding friction when lubricated [23]. The dynamic coefficient of friction within the mechanism was measured to be 0.173 with 0.013 standard deviation under horizontal loads ranging from 13.34 N to 83.74 N [24]. Silicon oil was used as a lubricant because the neoprene boot does not absorb it.…”

Section: Mechanics Of Localized Soil Fluidizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This efficiency was deemed acceptable, as the resulting configuration of the end effector provided small packaging size, jam-free operation, and the ability to calculate lost energy. If, in future, design iterations efficiency is critical, a maximum of 60% efficiency can be achieved using a similar wedge design with the same materials and a wedge angle of 29 deg [24].…”

Section: Mechanics Of Localized Soil Fluidizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Experimental Investigation of Digging Via Localized Fluidization, Tested With RoboClam: A Robot Inspired by Atlantic Razor Clams

Isava

Winter

2016

Journal of Mechanical Design

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Atlantic razor clam, Ensis directus, burrows underwater by expanding and contracting its valves to fluidize the surrounding soil. Its digging method uses an order of magnitude less energy than would be needed to push the clam directly into soil, which could be useful in applications such as anchoring and sensor placement. This paper presents the theoretical basis for the timescales necessary to achieve such efficient digging and gives design parameters for a device to move at these timescales. It then uses RoboClam, a robot designed to imitate the razor clam's movements, to test the design rules. It was found that the minimum contraction time is the most critical timescale for efficient digging and that efficient expansion times vary more widely. The results of this paper can be used as design rules for other robot architectures for efficient digging, optimized for the size scale and soil type of the application.

show abstract

“…An interesting approach is the RoboClam from the Hatsopoulous Microfluidics Laboratory at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) which mimics the behavior of the razor clam to perform anchoring operations [15] [16]. The project focuses on the Ensis clam genus, an elongate species by which the shell digs into sediment without rocking motion.…”

Section: Burrowing Robotsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Actuated bivalve robot study of the burrowing locomotion in sediment

Koller-Hodac

Germann

Gilgen

et al. 2010

2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper presents the design and control of an actuated bivalve robot, which has been developed to study the burrowing locomotion of bivalves in sediment. The setup consists of a tank filled with sand and water, plastic models of bivalve shells capable of expelling water and an external actuation mechanism simulating the rocking burrowing motion typically used by these animals. The realistic shell shapes have been realized using three-dimensional plotting techniques allowing testing influences of different shell shapes and surface structures (sculptures) on the burrowing efficiency. Based on the experimental setup, the burrowing process has been reproduced. The results show that this setup can be used to identify correlations in the burrowing process. Further experimental work will investigate the influence of factors such as shell shape and sculpture or the motion sequence on the burrowing performance. Keywords: biorobotics; biomimetics; burrowing locomotion; bivalves Actuated Bivalve Robot Study of the Burrowing Locomotion in SedimentAgathe Koller-Hodac, Daniel P. Germann, Alexander Gilgen, Katja Dietrich, Maik Hadorn, Wolfgang Schatz and Peter Eggenberger HotzAbstract-This paper presents the design and control of an actuated bivalve robot, which has been developed to study the burrowing locomotion of bivalves in sediment. The setup consists of a tank filled with sand and water, plastic models of bivalve shells capable of expelling water and an external actuation mechanism simulating the rocking burrowing motion typically used by these animals. The realistic shell shapes have been realized using three-dimensional plotting techniques allowing testing influences of different shell shapes and surface structures (sculptures) on the burrowing efficiency.Based on the experimental setup, the burrowing process has been reproduced. The results show that this setup can be used to identify correlations in the burrowing process. Further experimental work will investigate the influence of factors such as shell shape and sculpture or the motion sequence on the burrowing performance.

show abstract

The Design and Testing of RoboClam: A Machine Used to Investigate and Optimize Razor Clam-Inspired Burrowing Mechanisms for Engineering Applications

Cited by 10 publications

References 12 publications

Escape Burrowing of Modern Freshwater Bivalves as a Paradigm for Escape Behavior in the Devonian Bivalve Archanodon catskillensis

Escape Burrowing of Modern Freshwater Bivalves as a Paradigm for Escape Behavior in the Devonian Bivalve Archanodon catskillensis

An Experimental Investigation of Digging Via Localized Fluidization, Tested With RoboClam: A Robot Inspired by Atlantic Razor Clams

Actuated bivalve robot study of the burrowing locomotion in sediment

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About