Development of a Passive Body-Segmented Multi-Legged Robot Capable of Swimming

Abstract

Many rescue robots have been developed to search for survivors under the rubble in disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis, and to search for survivors in unexplored areas. Among them, robots with amphibious capability and rough terrain traversing capability are useful to operate in various environments. In this study, we developed a multi-legged walking robot consisting of multiple segments connected by passive body segments with swimming capability. The walking and swimming capability of the robot was verified using the developed robot. As a result, it was found that the developed robot can move using the existing walking method and the proposed swimming method. Furthermore, we found that the high motion performance was produced by the large swing angle and the short deflection period in both walking and swimming.