誘電エラストマーアクチュエータで駆動するイモムシロボットの開発

抄録

In this report, a soft actuator actuated robot mimicking the locomotion of caterpillars in the nature is presented. The robot is composed of several arch-like segments. Each segment is built with a dielectric elastomer attached on an elastic frame. The elongation of the segment can be controlled by changing the voltage applied on the dielectric elastomer. These segments are connected in serial with each other along their longitudinal directions to compose the robot. Each segment is controlled by periodic voltage and enable them to perform periodic extension one-by-one from tail to head and pushes the front segment forward, imitating the peristaltic waves of the caterpillars and driving the robot forward. Preliminary tests demonstrated that a 4-segment robot can functionally mimic the locomotion of caterpillars and reach an average speed of 0.35 mm/s on flat rigid surfaces.