Meeting Abstract
Here we describe a bioinspired crawling soft robot that is capable of emulating the locomotion of soft-bodied insect larvae. The robot uses several design principles derived from neuromechanical studies of the caterpillar, Manduca sexta. 1) The body is made from light-weight open cell foam representing the compressible hemocoel of insect larvae. 2) Movement is produced using brushed DC motors that wind tendon-like cables. These generate active force in tension and the tendons are restored to their passive length by elastic recoil. This mechanical cycling resembles natural muscle work loops. 3) The tendons attach to a conformable mesh fabric surrounding the foam body. These attachments are similar to insect apodemes and they serve to distribute locally applied forces to large regions of the body. 4) The robot uses two modes of locomotion: crawling, produced by cycles of compression and extension, or whole body bending that resembles caterpillar “inching”. This prototype is the first untethered terrestrial soft robot designed for real world applications such as environmental monitoring or search missions in unstructured, confined environments. For research purposes, several robot modules can be connected to more closely resemble the caterpillar body. This segmented robot could be used to test different motor control strategies and the role of sensory feedback in soft bodied crawling locomotion.
