Development of a Peristaltic Crawling Robot Using Planar Link Mechanisms

Abstract

Abstract The field of bio‐mechanisms, which develops new machines that use motion and control of organisms as a model, is attracting attention. We examined the peristaltic crawling of an earthworm as a transport function in place of wheels or ambulation, and have developed a robot running inside a tube. In this robot, a joint corresponding to the earthworm's segment is driven by a DC motor. This paper presents the experimental result of the peristaltic crawling of an actual earthworm and the evaluation result of the transport mechanism of a prototype robot. Copyright © 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.