Vibration Based Amphibious Locomotion Mechanism for Robotic Applications

• Main Authors: Ahmed Burak TAPAN, Murat REIS
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Suleyman Demirel University 2020-04-01
• Series: Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü Dergisi
• Subjects: amphibious robot; vibration; locomotion; elastic
• Online Access: http://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1046717

This work presents an innovative locomotion mechanism both on land and water surface based on vibration, for robotic applications. The locomotion mechanism consists of two legs with a low-density vertical wing profile that allows them to stand on water and a U-shaped elastic beam made of spring steel. The locomotion is generated by forcing the system to vibrate by means of a simple pendulum placed in the middle of the U-shaped bar. As the vertically positioned feet in the water oscillate, the robot moves in the forward direction with the pressure difference between the front and rear surfaces. The movement on the land is realized depending on the natural vibration modes of the elastic beam. In this work, the effect of different vibration frequencies on the locomotion velocity and the Cost of Transport (CoT) were investigated experimentally and the results were interpreted and discussed. In addition to these, the Cost of Transport of the preliminary model was compared with that of some robots and creatures in the literature.