Efficient amphibious robot channels its inner snake and centipede

Robots that move both on land and in water are potentially very useful, but they also tend to be complex and rather slow. But the new bio-inspired amphibious bot utilizes a relatively simple mechanism to wriggle with just the right clip.

Developed at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, the AmphiSAW robot is inspired by the way salamanders and snakes navigate underwater. and By the way the centipede moves along the ground.

Measuring 51.3 cm long by 16.4 cm wide (20.2 by 6.5 inches), the scale tip weighs 1,245 grams (44 ounces), and the robot’s mostly 3D-printed body consists of a front head module, a central consists of a vertically undulating tail. Two floats and rear electronically steerable rudder. Inside the head are a battery, a microcontroller, a GPS unit, a radio receiver, and three motors.

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

The tail consists of a corkscrew-like horizontal spiral that winds through the center of 14 connected hollow paddle links. Her one of the head module’s motors rotates the helix, moving the links up and down in sequence, producing a continuous series of sine waves that travel along the length of the tail.

This unique locomotion style allows the AmphiSAW to crawl across the ground at a speed of 1.5 body lengths per second (B/s) and swim across the water at 0.74 B/s.That said, the robot’s head is can Equipped with two rotating legs or wheels independently propelled by two other motors.

In this configuration, the ground speed is increased to 4 B/s, the robot has a better ability to climb over obstacles, and the legs/wheels can be used for differential steering. It also increases swimming speed by nearly 50%. teeth Tradeoffs … Legs/wheels add a lot of drag and consume a lot of power when used underwater, so they are not recommended primarily for underwater use.

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

The robot can be radio-controlled in real time or pre-programmed to autonomously track a series of GPS waypoints.

Fast, simple and inexpensive, the AmphiSAW boasts “the lowest transportation cost of any amphibious robot reported in the literature,” according to scientists (when used without additional legs or wheels). ). The technology can also be easily scaled up or down for use in applications such as search and rescue, marine research and aquaculture.

A paper on this study, led by Dr. David Zarrouk and his student Omer Guetta, was recently published in a journal. Bioinspiration and biomimeticsYou can see the AmphiSAW robot in action in the video below.

Source: Ben-Gurion University, Negev