Prototyping of musculoskeletal robot based on anatomy of neck of giraffes and performance test

Abstract

The neck of Giraffe has excellent characteristics as a long robot mechanism. The neck of giraffe can move violently represented in necking, a motion striking necks each other. Further, in a necking motion, a neck of a giraffe wards off impacts and adapts to the shape of the opponent. On the other hand, conventional robot mechanisms have hardly achieved both powerfulness and kinematic and dynamic flexibility to the opponent. In order to apply these excellent characteristics of necks of a giraffe to robot mechanisms, we developed a half-size musculoskeletal robot prototype based on anatomical knowledge of the neck of giraffes and the skeletal shape of an actual giraffe. The musculoskeletal robot protype is actuated by thin McKibben pneumatic artificial muscles, which bent flexibly, and we confirmed adaptability to an external force.