Electropermanent Jumping Mechanism Applying Internally-Balanced Magnetic Unit with Spring Compressible by Small Control Force

- 1st Report: Basic Structure Prototyping and Verification of Motion Model -

Abstract

Jumping mechanisms have been developed mainly for ground vehicles that need to traverse steps larger than their wheel diameter. However, as typical jumping mechanisms require a strong force to compress elastic body for jumping, conventional jumping mechanisms must load powerful actuators which tend to consume a large amount of electricity and be heavy, resulting in shorter operation time of the robot. In this research, the authors proposed a new method of compressing and releasing a spring using the Internally-Balanced Magnetic Unit, a mechanism that enables a permanent magnet to be controlled by a much smaller force than its attraction force. They realized its prototyping model and conducted experiments to show its effectiveness.