Dynamic modeling for continuous locomotion of bionic soft worm-like robot

Abstract

In the nature, worm-like robot can bend its slender body into an arch bridge when it moves, and it will move quickly in this deformation mode to nimbly escape from enemies once encountering danger. Inspired by this locomotion mechanism, a plenty of bionic soft worm-like robots have been devised and studied adopting quasi-static method. Nevertheless, how to describe the stick-slip transition and the continuity of the entire locomotion process of soft worm-like robots is still a challenging problem. To settle the above issue, a simplified curved beam model is developed to depict a type of soft worm-like robot move forward continuously by controlling its initial curvature in this paper. Based on the curved beam model, a novel dynamic modeling method is further proposed to solve stick-slip nonlinear switchover problem of the soft robot. Since the curved beam is divided into finite segments, an angular variable of an arbitrary point is introduced to elaborate the deformed shape of the curved beam, and then the dimensionless discretized equations of motion can be established via theoretical derivation and solved by implicit integration method. Through dynamic simulation and analysis, a continuous forward locomotion and net displacement of the robot can be easily observed, and several laws of the locomotion are uncovered, which reveals the stick-slip dynamic behaviors. Distinguished from the normal quasi-static modeling approach, the law of motion of the soft worm-like robot is clarified from the dynamic point of view, which will provide important reference for structural design and optimization control of similar soft robots.