表面張力を利用した水面移動ロボットの研究(機械力学,計測,自動制御)

抄録

This paper describes a bio-mimetic water strider robot with microfabricated hydrophobic legs. Various kinds of supporting legs with hydrophobic microstructures on their surfaces were developed using MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) techniques. The lift and pull-off forces of these supporting legs were analyzed theoretically and then measured. The experimental results were in good agreement with the calculations. Water strider robot with twelve micro-fabricated legs driven by a vibration motor successfully moved on a water surface and also made left/right turns by exploiting differences in the resonant frequencies of the legs.