Sidewinding locomotion of flatworm-like mesh robot WORMESH-II

Abstract

AbstractWORMESH-II, which is the second prototype in the WORMESH series, is inspired by a flatten and soft-bodied fatworm, and its uniqueness is the use of multiple travelling waves for locomotion. In this paper, the sidewinding locomotions for WORMESH-II are talked about. This is because sidewinding is one of the most effective ways to traverse sandy terrain. The mathematical model of the sidewinding locomotion kinematics of WORMESH-II explains how synchronous multiple sidewinding waves can be used to control the movement of the robot effectively. Unlike WORMESH’s pedal-wave locomotion, sidewinding gaits allow the robot to be manoeuvred in any direction without changing the joint sequence. Relative to the wave propagation direction, velocity in the longitudinal direction is dependent on the vertical component of sidewinding travelling waves. Moreover, velocity in the transverse direction depends on the horizontal component of sidewinding travelling waves. The velocity in the longitudinal direction becomes zero when the phase shift of the travelling waves equals $$\pi $$ π rad. The angular velocity around the instantaneous centre of rotation depends on the wave amplitude of the horizontal component of the sidewinding travelling wave along the kinematic chains, and the turning radius is proportional to the amplitude gradient along the kinematic chains. The dynamic simulation of WORMESH-II and testing with the WORMESH-II prototype confirmed the proposed method, which was based on the metamathematical explanation of locomotion.