Meeting Abstract
Jumping locomotion has been of great interest in mobile robotics to help robots overcome the obstacles that are higher than the robot’s center of mass. In nature, many animals use jumping to travel great distances, escape from predators, or catch prey. Small-scale insects have developed various jumping mechanisms and strategies such as composite bows, mechanical linkage systems, and gear trains. In contrast to many legged jumping insects and the robots they have inspired, trap-jaw ants often jump with their jaws. Odontomachus brunneus (mass: 6 mg) close their mandibles with extreme velocities, allowing them to jump with take-off velocities of 4.0 m/s, accelerations of 6,100 m/s2 and a power density of 88,000 Watts per kg of muscle. Here we present a trap-jaw ant-inspired mechanism, designed and manufactured to investigate the energetics of this highly dynamic system and is twice the length scale of a trap-jaw ant head, measuring 2mmX4mmX6mm. To manufacture this mechanism with actuation, latch, and energy storage elements at the millimeter scale, we employ the techniques of smart composite microstructures to manufacture and assemble the multilayer device. The main structural material in this mechanism is shape memory alloy, which serves as the revolute joint, energy storage element, and actuator through heating. We selected stainless steel for mandibles to increase the strike force in jumping. Preliminary experiments show that the 58 mg mechanism can perform a vertical jump up to 75 times its body length, with a jumping velocity of 3 m/s, acceleration of 6,000 m/s2 and a power density of 9,000 W/kg. Mandible velocity and acceleration while pushing against the ground are measured as 2,4 m/s and 9×103 m/s2, respectively.
