Xiao Xuan, Zhao Zizhu, Qi Lianzhi, Sumantri Michael Albert, Liu Hengwei, Li Jianqin, Zheng Keyang, Wang Jianming
School of Computer Science and Technology, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China.
School of Mechanical Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China.
Biomimetics (Basel). 2025 Aug 13;10(8):532. doi: 10.3390/biomimetics10080532.
Snake robots are characterized by their flexibility and environmental adaptability, achieved through various optimized gaits. However, their forward propulsion still requires improvement. This challenge can be addressed by integrating wheels or legs, but these mechanisms often limit the ability of snake robots to perform most optimized gaits. In this article, we develop a novel multimodal snake robot, JiAo-II, with both body-based locomotion and wheeled locomotion to handle complex terrains. The mechanical design and implementation of JiAo-II are presented in detail, with particular emphasis on its innovative elliptical wheels and gear transmission mechanism. Experimental results validate the effectiveness and multifunctionality of JiAo-II across various scenarios, including traversing grasslands, crossing gaps, ascending slopes, navigating pipelines, and climbing cylindrical surfaces. Furthermore, a series of experiments are conducted to evaluate the performance of the wheel-body coordinated locomotion on uneven ground, demonstrating the robustness even without requiring external sensing or sophisticated control strategies. In summary, the proposed multimodal mechanism significantly enhances the locomotion speed, terrain adaptability and robustness of snake robots.
蛇形机器人的特点是具有灵活性和环境适应性，这是通过各种优化的步态实现的。然而，它们的向前推进能力仍有待提高。可以通过集成轮子或腿部来应对这一挑战，但这些机制往往会限制蛇形机器人执行最优化步态的能力。在本文中，我们开发了一种新型多模态蛇形机器人JiAo-II，它兼具基于身体的运动和轮式运动，以应对复杂地形。详细介绍了JiAo-II的机械设计与实现，特别强调了其创新的椭圆轮和齿轮传动机构。实验结果验证了JiAo-II在各种场景下的有效性和多功能性，包括穿越草地、跨越间隙、爬坡、在管道中导航以及攀爬圆柱表面。此外，还进行了一系列实验来评估轮体协调运动在不平地面上的性能，证明了即使不需要外部传感或复杂的控制策略也具有稳健性。总之，所提出的多模态机制显著提高了蛇形机器人的运动速度、地形适应性和稳健性。
