Quick stair-climbing using snap-through buckling of closed elastica

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a machine for quick stair-climbing which is a card-size 14[g] jumping machine driven by a repeated unidirectional impulse force generator based on snap-through buckling of closed elastica. This compact lightweight machine can jump over a distance of 580[mm] at repetition frequency of 1.4[Hz]. This high repeated jumping capability enables the machine to climb up stairs by jumping repeatedly with a period of 0.7[s] per a step of a typical stair in buildings, which shows the potential of the machine for autonomous robots realizing quick stair-climbing.