1,309 research outputs found
Martian Lava Tube Exploration Using Jumping Legged Robots: A Concept Study
In recent years, robotic exploration has become increasingly important in
planetary exploration. One area of particular interest for exploration is
Martian lava tubes, which have several distinct features of interest. First, it
is theorized that they contain more easily accessible resources such as water
ice, needed for in-situ utilization on Mars. Second, lava tubes of significant
size can provide radiation and impact shelter for possible future human
missions to Mars. Third, lava tubes may offer a protected and preserved view
into Mars' geological and possible biological past. However, exploration of
these lava tubes poses significant challenges due to their sheer size,
geometric complexity, uneven terrain, steep slopes, collapsed sections,
significant obstacles, and unstable surfaces. Such challenges may hinder
traditional wheeled rover exploration. To overcome these challenges, legged
robots and particularly jumping systems have been proposed as potential
solutions. Jumping legged robots utilize legs to both walk and jump. This
allows them to traverse uneven terrain and steep slopes more easily compared to
wheeled or tracked systems. In the context of Martian lava tube exploration,
jumping legged robots would be particularly useful due to their ability to jump
over big boulders, gaps, and obstacles, as well as to descend and climb steep
slopes. This would allow them to explore and map such caves, and possibly
collect samples from areas that may otherwise be inaccessible. This paper
presents the specifications, design, capabilities, and possible mission
profiles for state-of-the-art legged robots tailored to space exploration.
Additionally, it presents the design, capabilities, and possible mission
profiles of a new jumping legged robot for Martian lava tube exploration that
is being developed at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.Comment: 74rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC
Bio-Inspired Robotics
Modern robotic technologies have enabled robots to operate in a variety of unstructured and dynamically-changing environments, in addition to traditional structured environments. Robots have, thus, become an important element in our everyday lives. One key approach to develop such intelligent and autonomous robots is to draw inspiration from biological systems. Biological structure, mechanisms, and underlying principles have the potential to provide new ideas to support the improvement of conventional robotic designs and control. Such biological principles usually originate from animal or even plant models, for robots, which can sense, think, walk, swim, crawl, jump or even fly. Thus, it is believed that these bio-inspired methods are becoming increasingly important in the face of complex applications. Bio-inspired robotics is leading to the study of innovative structures and computing with sensory–motor coordination and learning to achieve intelligence, flexibility, stability, and adaptation for emergent robotic applications, such as manipulation, learning, and control. This Special Issue invites original papers of innovative ideas and concepts, new discoveries and improvements, and novel applications and business models relevant to the selected topics of ``Bio-Inspired Robotics''. Bio-Inspired Robotics is a broad topic and an ongoing expanding field. This Special Issue collates 30 papers that address some of the important challenges and opportunities in this broad and expanding field
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
Aquatic escape for micro-aerial vehicles
As our world is experiencing climate changes, we are in need of better monitoring technologies.
Most of our planet is covered with water and robots will need to move in aquatic environments.
A mobile robotic platform that possesses efficient locomotion and is capable of operating in
diverse scenarios would give us an advantage in data collection that can validate climate models,
emergency relief and experimental biological research. This field of application is the driving
vector of this robotics research which aims to understand, produce and demonstrate solutions
of aerial-aquatic autonomous vehicles.
However, small robots face major challenges in operating both in water and in air, as well as
transition between those fluids, mainly due to the difference of density of the media.
This thesis presents the developments of new aquatic locomotion strategies at small scales that
further enlarge the operational domain of conventional platforms. This comprises flight, shallow
water locomotion and the transition in-between. Their operating principles, manufacturing
methods and control methods are discussed and evaluated in detail.
I present multiple unique aerial-aquatic robots with various water escape mechanisms, spanning
over different scales. The five robotic platforms showcased share similarities that are compared.
The take-off methods are analysed carefully and the underlying physics principles put into light.
While all presented research fulfils a similar locomotion objective - i.e aerial and aquatic motion
- their relevance depends on the environmental conditions and supposed mission. As such, the
performance of each vehicle is discussed and characterised in real, relevant conditions.
A novel water-reactive fuel thruster is developed for impulsive take-off, allowing consecutive
and multiple jump-gliding from the water surface in rough conditions. At a smaller scale, the
escape of a milligram robotic bee is achieved. In addition, a new robot class is demonstrated,
that employs the same wings for flying as for passive surface sailing. This unique capability
allows the flexibility of flight to be combined with long-duration surface missions, enabling
autonomous prolonged aquatic monitoring.Open Acces
Advances in Bio-Inspired Robots
This book covers three major topics, specifically Biomimetic Robot Design, Mechanical System Design from Bio-Inspiration, and Bio-Inspired Analysis on A Mechanical System. The Biomimetic Robot Design part introduces research on flexible jumping robots, snake robots, and small flying robots, while the Mechanical System Design from Bio-Inspiration part introduces Bioinspired Divide-and-Conquer Design Methodology, Modular Cable-Driven Human-Like Robotic Arm andWall-Climbing Robot. Finally, in the Bio-Inspired Analysis on A Mechanical System part, research contents on the control strategy of Surgical Assistant Robot, modeling of Underwater Thruster, and optimization of Humanoid Robot are introduced
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