A miniature 7g jumping robot

Jumping can be a very efficient mode of locomotion for small robots to overcome large obstacles and travel in natural, rough terrain. In this paper we present the development and characterization of a novel 5cm, 7g jumping robot. It can jump obstacles as high as more than 27 times its own size and outperforms existing jumping robots with respect to jump height per weight and jump height per size. It employs elastic elements in a four bar linkage leg system to allow for very powerful jumps and adjustment of jumping force, take off angle and force profile during the acceleration phase

Bioinspired Jumping Locomotion for Miniature Robotics

In nature, many small animals use jumping locomotion to move in rough terrain. Compared to other modes of ground locomotion, jumping allows an animal to overcome obstacles that are relatively large compared to its size. In this thesis we outline the main design challenges that need to be addressed when building miniature jumping robots. We then present three novel robotic jumpers that solve those challenges and outperform existing similar jumping robots by one order of magnitude with regard to jumping height per size and weight. The robots presented in this thesis, called EPFL jumper v1, EPFL jumper v2 and EPFL jumper v3 have a weight between 7g and 14.3g and are able to jump up to 27 times their own size, with onboard energy and control. This high jumping performance is achieved by using the same mechanical design principles as found in jumping insects such as locusts or fleas. Further, we present a theoretical model which allows an evaluation whether the addition of wings could potentially allow a jumping robot to prolong its jumps. The results from the model and the experiments with a winged jumping robot indicate that for miniature robots, adding wings is not worthwhile when moving on ground. However, when jumping from an elevated starting position, adding wings can lead to longer distances traveled compared to jumping without wings. Moreover, it can reduce the kinetic energy on impact which needs to be absorbed by the robot structure. Based on this conclusion, we developed the EPFL jumpglider, the first miniature jumping and gliding robot that has been presented so far. It has a mass of 16.5g and is able to jump from elevated positions, perform steered gliding flight, land safely and locomote on ground with repetitive jumps1. ______________________________ 1See the collection of the accompanying videos at http://lis.epfl.ch/microglider/moviesAll.zi

Novel Integrated System Architecture for an Autonomous Jumping Micro-Robot

As the capability and complexity of robotic platforms continue to evolve from the macro to micro-scale, innovation of such systems is driven by the notion that a robot must be able to sense, think, and act [1]. The traditional architecture of a robotic platform consists of a structural layer upon which, actuators, controls, power, and communication modules are integrated for optimal system performance. The structural layer, for many micro-scale platforms, has commonly been implemented using a silicon die, thus leading to robotic platforms referred to as "walking chips" [2]. In this thesis, the first-ever jumping microrobotic platform is demonstrated using a hybrid integration approach to assemble on-board sensing and power directly onto a polymer chassis. The microrobot detects a change in light intensity and ignites 0.21mg of integrated nanoporous energetic silicon, resulting in 246µJ of kinetic energy and a vertical jump height of 8cm

방향 전환, 도약 각도 조절, 자세 교정이 가능한 점핑 로봇

학위논문 (석사)-- 서울대학교 대학원 : 공과대학 기계항공공학부, 2019. 2. 조규진.도약 로봇은 로봇 자신의 크기보다 큰 장애물을 넘어 이동할 수 있다. 도약 운동만으로 원하는 위치에 도달하기 위해 도달 가능한 범위를 넓힐 수 있는 방향 전환, 도약 각도 조절, 자세 교정 기능이 통합된 점핑 로봇들이 개발됐다. 이 때 추가 기능을 통합하면 로봇의 질량이 증가하고 도약 성능이 감소하므로 질량을 줄이기 위한 설계가 필요하다. 본 논문에서는 방향 전환, 도약 각도 조절, 자세 교정이 가능한 도약 로봇을 제안하며, 도약 성능 감소를 최소화하기 위해 메커니즘과 구동기를 공유할 수 있도록 로봇이 설계되었다. 로봇의 질량은 70.1 g으로 최대 높이 1.02 m, 최대 거리 1.28 m를 도약할 수 있다. 또한, 전 방향으로 도약할 수 있으며, 반복 도약으로 더 먼 곳에 도달할 수 있다. 로봇의 거동을 예측할 수 있는 동역학 모델을 세웠으며, 미끄러짐이 없이 도약하는 경우뿐만 아니라 미끄러짐이 포함된 도약에 대해서도 로봇의 거동을 확인하고 도약 궤적을 계획할 수 있다. 구동기의 수보다 많은 기능의 수를 구현하는 설계 방법은 다른 소형 로봇의 설계에 적용할 수 있을 것이다. 이 로봇은 비정형 환경에서 수색, 정찰 혹은 탐사와 같은 임무를 수행하는 데 활용 가능할 것이다.Jumping enables the robot to overcome obstacles that are larger than its own size. In order to reach the desired location with only jumping, the jumping robots integrated with additional functions –steering, adjusting the take-off angle, and self-righting – have been developed to expand the reachable range of the robot. Design to reduce mass is required as the integration of additional functions increases the mass of the robot and reduces the jumping performance. In this thesis, a jumping robot capable of steering, adjusting the take-off angle, and self-righting is proposed with the design of actuator and mechanism sharing to minimize the jumping performance degradation. The robot, with a mass of 70.1 g jumps up to 1.02 m in vertical height, and 1.28 m in horizontal distance. It can change the jumping height and distance by adjusting the take-off angle from 40° to 91.9°. The robot can jump in all directions, and it can reach farther through multiple jumps. A dynamic model is established to predict the behavior of the robot and plan the jumping trajectory not only for jumping without slip but also for jumping with slip. The design method to implement more functions than the number of actuators can be applied to design other small-scale robots. This robot can be deployed to unstructured environments to perform tasks such as search and rescue, reconnaissance, and exploration.Abstract ⅰ Contents ⅲ List of Tables ⅴ List of Figures ⅵ Chapter 1. Introduction 1 1.1. Motivation 1 1.2. Research Objectives and Contributions 3 1.3. Research Overview 6 Chapter 2. Design 7 2.1. Jumping 8 2.2. Steering 10 2.3. Take-off Angle Adjustment 12 2.4. Self-Righting 13 2.5. Integration 16 Chapter 3. Analysis 19 3.1. Dynamic Modeling 19 3.2. Simulated Results 24 3.3. Jumping Trajectory Planning 33 Chapter 4. Result 35 4.1. Performance 35 4.2. Demonstration 40 Chapter 5. Conclusion 46 Bibliography 49 국문 초록 53Maste

Design and Development of a Salticid Inspired Jumping Robot

The ability to jump allows small robots to traverse rough terrain, clear large obstacles, and quickly reach elevated locations. These abilities have applications in a variety of areas such as, search and rescue, environmental monitoring, and urban warfare. The primary focus in current state-of-the-art jumping robots has been on jumping as high or far as possible, with little focus on how to change the prelaunch dynamics to accomplish different trajectories. This lack of variety limits the utility of jumping robots by reducing their effective workspace. To solve this problem, we explored the jumping behavior of the Salticid family of jumping spiders. Salticid spiders are able to change their leg geometry and use their front legs to channel jump energy into a vaulting motion. Vaulting allows the spider to achieve alter trajectories than are possible by extension of the rear legs alone. We mapped the spiders jumping mechanism onto a four-bar linkage to develop a model for the spiders jumping mechanics.This model is then used to develop a robot that is able to effectively mimic the spider's jumping behavior

The EPFL jumpglider: A hybrid jumping and gliding robot with rigid or folding wings

Recent work suggests that wings can be used to prolong the jumps of miniature jumping robots. However, no functional miniature jumping robot has been presented so far that can successfully apply this hybrid locomotion principle. In this publication, we present the development and characterization of the ’EPFL jumpglider’, a miniature robot that can prolong its jumps using steered hybrid jumping and gliding locomotion over varied terrain. For example, it can safely descend from elevated positions such as stairs and buildings and propagate on ground with small jumps. The publication presents a systematic evaluation of three biologically inspired wing folding mechanisms and a rigid wing design. Based on this evaluation, two wing designs are implemented and compared