Biomimetic Crawling Robot Based on Dielectric Elastomer: Design, Modeling and Experiment

In this study, a bio-inspired crawling robot with multi-surface locomotion capability is developed. The robot is driven by Dielectric Elastomer Minimum Energy Structures (DEMES) and utilizes a three-dimensional scissor mechanism and electrostatic adhesion technology to achieve multi-surface crawling function. The output torque of the actuator was measured, and a dynamic model of the scissor mechanism was established to estimate the theoretical speed of the robot under specific signal input. Additionally, a comparison between two electrostatic adhesion methods of the robot was conducted to validate its multi-surface locomotion capability, and the experiments demonstrated that this design reduces the requirements for robot deployment. The proposed design in this letter provides new insights for the development of biomimetic crawling robots.