Abstract
In the current study, we have designed a bouncing device, the bionic bouncing foot end, specifically for the lunar surface environment. The device uses its gravity to store energy in a spring and bounces when the spring releases the energy. We released the spring device from a fixed height and used a 3D capture device to record and analyse the height and angle of excursion of the foot to assess its bouncing performance. Given the important influence of the attachment performance of the foot end on the jumping performance, we designed a new bionic pattern of the bouncing foot end using the camel hoof and the ostrich papilla as bionic prototypes. Through validation, we demonstrated that the attachment performance of the bionic pattern is better than that of the traditional patterned foot end. For the application requirements of jumping robots in loose and soft media, we further optimised the design of the foot end pattern and verified it by simulation through multi-rigid body dynamics and discrete element simulation. These studies provide important theoretical and technical support for the study of high-performance jumping robots in the lunar surface environment.