2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Development of an Environmentally adapted 3 Dimensional Snake-like Robot
| Project/Area Number |
15360129
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Intelligent mechanics/Mechanical systems
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| Research Institution | Ritsumeikan University (2005-2006)
Ibaraki University (2003-2004) |
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Principal Investigator |
MA Shugen Ritsumeikan University, Center for Promotion of the COE Program, Professor, COE推進機構, 教授 (20250988)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
INOUE Kousuke Ibaraki University, Dept. of Intelligent Systems Eng., Research Associate, 工学部, 助手 (10344839)
KONDO Ryo Ibaraki University, Dept. of Mechanical Eng., Associate Professor, 工学部, 助教授 (90186867)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2006
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| Keywords | Intelligent Robot / Biomimetic Mechanics / Biomechanics / Snake-like Robot / Neural Oscillator / Environmental Adaptation / Central Pattern Generator / Snake-like Locomotion |
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| Research Abstract |
This research aims to develop a 3 dimensional snake-like robot that behaves high reliability and flexibility, and to implement the environmental adaptation function of the nature snake to this robot.
1) While developing a 3 dimensional snake-like robot whose joint has the motion range wider than ±90°, an active crawler was also developed for the robot to improve its mobility and environmental adaptability. Through well cooperative control of the robot joints and the active crawler, the snake-like robot with the active crawlers shows higher environmental accessibility and mobility. In addition, a robot equipped with sensors sensing the ground contact state was also developed and its validity has been verified by performing the surface following motion and the crevasse crossing motion.
2) To derive a suitable environmentally adaptive algorithm of snake-like robots, a computer simulator based on the kinematics and dynamics of the robot was developed. With this simulator, the uniform reactio
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n motion and the Sinus-lifting motion were simulated through controlling the normal distribution forces. The influence of the joint's degrees of freedom to the robot motion was verified, and the combination of the degrees of freedom at joint was also discussed for adaptation to the creeping locomotion on slopes as well.
3) As an autonomous distributed control low of the snake-like robot, a mutual inhibitory CPG (central pattern generator) network was introduced and implemented onto a snake-like robot platform. This CPG network can generate the input signals for rhythmical motion of the robot, but needs longer convergence time and an extra CPG. To solve these problems of long convergence time and additional CPQ a cyclic inhibitory CPG network has been proposed. This network not only can sustain a rhythmic output for rhythmical motion of snake-like robots with a short convergence time, but also can generate the different locomotion pattern just with different high level commend. This makes the transformation of the locomotion patterns easily executed.
4) While developing the friction sensor for the snake-like robot, the parameters of the CPG network corresponding to the changes of friction were calculated by using GA, and its validity was also discussed.
The influence of sensory feedback on the CPG controller will be further discussed to enable the snake-like robot locomote well adapting to the environment. Less
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