Abstract
The steady rise of deployable structures and mechanisms based on kirigami and origami principles has brought about design innovations that yield flexible and lightweight robots. These robots are designed based on desirable locomotion mechanisms and often incorporate additional materials to support their flexible structure to enable load-bearing applications and considerable efficient movement. One tetherless way to actuate these robots is via the use of magnets. This paper incorporates magnetic actuation and kirigami structures based on the lamina emergent mechanism (LEM). Three designs of magnetic-actuated LEMs (triangular prism, single LEM (SLEM), alternating mirror dual LEM (AMDLEM)) are proposed, and small permanent magnets are attached to the structures’ flaps or legs that rotate in response to an Actuating Permanent Magnet (APM) to yield stick-slip locomotion, enabling the robots to waddle and crawl on a frictional surface. For preliminary characterization, we actuate the three designs at a frequency of 0.6 Hz. We observed the triangular prism, SLEM, and AMDLEM prototypes to achieve horizontal speeds of 4.3 mm/s, 10.7 mm/s, and 12.5 mm/s on flat surfaces, respectively. We further explore how changing different parameters (actuation frequency, friction, leg length, stiffness, compressibility) affects the locomotion of the different mechanisms.
Highlights
Mechanisms that mimic the natural locomotion patterns of animals have attracted much attention over the recent years
The use of compliant structures reduces the need for bulky and rigid electrical components that are commonly used in traditional hard robots, reducing potential risks of accidents or injuries inflicted during interaction with the human body and enabling safer human–machine interaction [3]
In the following sub-sections, we review the different actuation mechanisms and bio-mimetic locomotion patterns reported in the literature
Summary
Mechanisms that mimic the natural locomotion patterns of animals have attracted much attention over the recent years. Various mechanisms reported in the literature incorporate compliant materials or structures due to their potential for adaptive interactions with unpredictable and complex environments [1,2]. Several types of animal-inspired locomotion mechanisms and their corresponding enabling fabrication approaches and actuation methods are studied. Annelids (such as earthworms and caterpillars) and snakes that rely on friction-enabled locomotion mechanisms such as peristalsis, inchworm, and undulation are popular inspirations for robots in applications that require them to access tight and narrow spaces while avoiding obstacles. In the following sub-sections, we review the different actuation mechanisms and bio-mimetic locomotion patterns reported in the literature
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