Ground following locomotion of a robot inspired by pill bugs

This paper introduces `Ground Following Locomotion' as a means to traverse rough terrain inspired by pill bugs(Armadillidium vulgare). The locomotion of pill bugs is unique and effective on irregular terrain. Pill bugs bend their bodies actively along with the terrain to maintain traction force and the behavior enables them to overcome irregular terrain easily. This biological principle can be applied to small robots to overcome rough terrain by adjusting relative positions of body modules. Analysis and simulations will be conducted to compare performance of adjustable joint model(ground following locomotion) and fixed joint model and the results will show that the performance of ground following locomotion is effective to overcome vertical obstacles. The principle described here could be applied to small ground robots to improve mobility on rough terrains.