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Bimodal mobility actuated by inertial forces with surface elastic bodies in microgravity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2021

Kenji Nagaoka*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Control Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Fukuoka, Japan
Toshiyasu Kaneko
Affiliation:
Department of Aerospace Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
Kazuya Yoshida
Affiliation:
Department of Aerospace Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
*
*Corresponding author. Email: nagaoka@ieee.org
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Abstract

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This paper presents bimodal mobility actuated by inertial forces with elastic bodies for an exploration robot in a microgravity environment. The proposed bimodal locomotion mechanism can selectively achieve vibration propulsion or rotational hopping mode based on centrifugal force and reaction torque exerted by the control of a single eccentric motor, where the rotational hopping is the primary locomotion mode for practical applications. The bimodal mobility performance under microgravity is experimentally examined using an air-floating testbed. Furthermore, we also present theoretical modeling of the bimodal mobility system, and the model is verified by comparison with the experiments.

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Type
Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press