Wireless Controlled Self-Powered Living Insect Robot Driven by Electrical Muscle Stimulation

Living insect robots are another approach to developing micro robots. It is equipped with an electronic system on a living insect body to achieve motion control. In this paper, we present and validate the concept of a wireless controlled self-powered living insect robot. It is based on Gampsocleis grafiosa, which is a land insect. To explore the electrical muscle stimulation parameters for fundamental biologically control, we propose a derivative-free optimization strategy. It is able to find the best combination of electrical stimulation parameters in as few trials as possible. The noise is also optimized as much as possible from an experimental and algorithmic point of view. We have first achieved efficient control of the forward walking of Gampsocleis grafiosa. In addition, to improve the application of the living insect robot in civilian search and rescue, a passive ultra-thin sensor based on contact electrification and electrostatic induction coupling effects was designed and manufactured. Living insect robots equipped with this passive sensor are able to sense the proximity of external moving objects (e.g., plant leaves, dry tree bark, and other man-made materials, etc.). Finally, we designed the low-power optimization for living insect robot and achieved a basic self-powered operating state by solar power.