A new application of modular robots on analysis of caterpillar-like locomotion

Abstract

This paper presents the application of developing and employing modular robots for caterpillar-like locomotion research. Firstly an investigation on locomotion kinematics adopted by natural caterpillars is given systematically. From kinematics viewpoint, the caterpillar can be considered as a structure with pitching moving joints and attachment units in total. The kinematics locomotion model can be built with three robotic modules Cube-M in pitching-pitching connections, which is designed by us recently. We concentrate on using flexible and cheap modular robotic system for bio-inspired research and educational purposes in our international consortium. Various bio-inspired locomotion is investigated thoroughly, such as most efficient movement for power consumption, the fastest movement gaits. In the end a conclusion is given and future work is outlined.