Study on the mechanism of snail's locomotion aiming at the application of asistive mobility equipment

Abstract

In order to develop an indoor assistive mobil machine, we paid attention to the locomotory mechanism of a snail. It is known that the snail moves by using pedal locomotory waves occurring on its sole. However, the mechanism of pedal locomotion has not yet been explained enough. In this paper, the mechanism of snail's locomotion was presented without consideration of the effect of mucus. The relationship between a form of pedal wave and a force generated vertically and horizontally by the sole was examined.