State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China.
Adv Sci (Weinh). 2022 Oct;9(29):e2203054. doi: 10.1002/advs.202203054. Epub 2022 Aug 18.
Amphibious robots can undertake various tasks in terrestrial and aquatic environments for their superior environmental compatibility. However, the existing amphibious robots usually utilize multi-locomotion systems with transmission mechanisms, leading to complex and bulky structures. Here, a miniature amphibious robot based on vibration-driven locomotion mechanism is developed. The robot has two unique rigid-flexible hybrid modules (RFH-modules), in which a soft foot and a flexible fin are arranged on a rigid leg to conduct vibrations from an eccentric motor to the environment. Then, it can run on ground with the soft foot adopting the friction locomotion mechanism and swim on water with the flexible fin utilizing the vibration-induced flow mechanism. The robot is untethered with a compact size of 75 × 95 × 21 mm and a small weight of 35 g owing to no transmission mechanism or joints. It realizes the maximum speed of 815 mm s on ground and 171 mm s on water. The robot, actuated by the RFH-modules based on vibration-driven locomotion mechanism, exhibits the merits of miniature structure and fast movements, indicating its great potential for applications in narrow amphibious environments.
两栖机器人因其卓越的环境适应性，可以在陆地和水下环境中执行各种任务。然而，现有的两栖机器人通常采用带有传动机构的多运动系统，导致结构复杂且庞大。在这里，开发了一种基于振动驱动运动机构的微型两栖机器人。该机器人有两个独特的刚性-柔性混合模块（RFH 模块），其中在刚性腿上布置了一个软足和一个柔性鳍，以将偏心电机的振动传递到环境中。然后，它可以用软足采用摩擦运动机构在地面上运行，用柔性鳍利用振动诱导流机构在水中游泳。机器人是无绳的，尺寸紧凑，大小为 75×95×21mm，重量轻，仅为 35g，因为没有传动机构或关节。它在地面上实现了 815mm/s 的最大速度，在水中实现了 171mm/s 的最大速度。该机器人由基于振动驱动运动机构的 RFH 模块驱动，具有结构小巧、运动速度快的优点，表明其在狭窄的两栖环境中具有很大的应用潜力。
