Dynamics of Under-Actuated Leech-Inspired Robot

Biomimicking has been a great inspiration for the development of many types of robots because of several advantages nature has built into her systems. This paper introduces a new Leech-inspired robot that makes use of the ultra-compliant element. The robot uses an ultra-flexible beam connected to two hubs at the end where the beam angle with respect to the hub is controlled. An electro-magnetic hold is used to secure the hub to the surface and another actuator to turn the hub with respect to the ground. We use the assumed modes method for modeling the dynamic deformation of the beam in planar motion and develop Extended Hamilton formulation considering length constraint on the beam. Gaits of robot motion are simulated with a heuristic design of control and corresponding experimental results are presented.