Design and Analysis of a Burrowing Mechanism Inspired by Mole Incisors for Planetary Exploration

Planetary exploration is extremely important in ad-dressing the shortage of Earth’s resources and understanding the geological structure of extraterrestrial planets. Bioinspired methods provide unique insights into robot design to enhance burrowing efficiency. The mole (Fukomys micklemi) is an underground mammal with sharp incisors and well-evolved forelimbs, and is capable of burrowing underground tunnels with ultra-high energy efficiency. Taking inspiration from mole incisors, this work designed a burrowing mechanism for planetary exploration. The interaction between mole incisors and soil was analyzed by Discrete Element Method (DEM) to obtain the most suitable occlusion method and incisor opening angle. Then, the burrowing mechanism inspired by the incisors was designed and a prototype was developed. An experimental setup was developed to test the burrowing capability of the incisor mechanism. The simulation results fit well with the experimental results. This work optimized the incisor occlusion method and can be used to promote the burrowing capability of mole-inspired burrowing robots.