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manufacturing. Several dynamic simulation software programs,
such as ADAMS, CoppelaSim, Webots, and others, can
be employed. There are also several good simulation environments
built for specific purposes by robot research institutes.
The ADAMS model is illustrated in Fig. 5b, in which the structure
of the yellow feet, which have five paws apiece and are
spread out to form a large contact area to support the robot as it
is moving, was inspired by a gecko's feet, and quasi-dynamic
stability is thus achieved.
The robot's trajectories of feet are pre-planned, based on
earlier biological locomotion experiments results that match
the gecko's intra and inter-limb cooperation. Equation (1) is
adopted for the transition stage in moving and up-down directions.
The robot's locomotion is then simulated by adjusting
the joint angles calculated using the robot's inverse kinematics.
By merging the structure and simulation findings, the
locomotion control methods are modified, and the robot's
structure is optimized systematically.
Fig. 5c displays the simulation result of right front foot trajectories
relative to the gecko's hip joint. The red solid line
shows the trajectory in the moving direction, whereas the
dashed blue depicts the trajectory in the up-down direction. It
is evident that the trajectories in the up-down direction and in
the transitional directions satisfy the intended ones. The displacement
trajectory is smooth at each transitional stage. The
stance phase and swing phase can be divided by the curve in
the up-down direction. Before entering the stance phase, the
foot speed relative to the hip joint reaches the body's value before
it descends until it makes contact with the substrate. In
contrast, shortly after leaving the substrate, the foot maintains
its speed before reducing it to zero and switching directions.
The inter constraint force is, to some extent, overcome, and the
robot moves at a constant speed.
Many circumstances need for that robot to move steadily,
such as when it is an inspection robot with a camera mounted
to its body. Steady locomotion would lessen the vibration of a
camera to obtain clear footage. Fig. 5d depicts a gecko mimic
robot that is employed for inspection in confined spaces. The
experiment were conducted in a lab on this robot, the foot
trajectories were planned using the previously suggested
method, and the joint angles were then determined using the
inverse kinematics of the leg. Results indicated that at a testing
speed of roughly 25 mm/s, the inspection image was clear
with minimal vibration.
Conclusion
Learning from nature has long been a popular topic in robotics,
and it might provide numerous prototypes for useful
robotics. The main guidelines of bio-inspiration locomotion
control are explained in this paper using a gecko-mimic robot
as an example. Biological experiments are usually the starting
point for bio-inspiration locomotion research. In many circumstances,
however, the structural or motion data could not be
incorporated to the robot or mechanism design correctly. To
ensure thorough understanding of the animal's locomotion,
the raw data should be processed ahead of time and carefully
December 2022
processed to avoid artefacts. The following step consists of a
mathematical model followed by a dynamic simulation, which
will include not only the mechanical aspects, but also the effect
of the locomotion control strategy selected for the robot actuation.
At last, the robot prototype is realized and tested. The
bio-inspired locomotion of the robot can then be realized after
modeling, experimentation, and optimization.
The reverse engineering approach, with a large degree of
simplification, was followed all along the project of the gecko
robot reviewed in this paper, and it represents one of the two
essential ingredients for the development of new generations
of robots able to interactively behave with people and become
efficient robot companions. The other part is covered by the
neuro-engineering approach, which is not only devoted to
finding efficient bio-inspired strategies for producing adaptive
and robust locomotion strategies. It is also focused on
inspecting how the impressive adaptation capabilities of living
beings do emerge from the collective behavior of pools of
neurons in symbiosis with motor systems. Discovering the real
details of the sensing-perception-action loop in living beings
and their realization in bio-neuro-inspired robots is a real challenge
for current and future research activity, and has become a
solid field where biologists and engineers are required to work
together for a mutual benefit.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the Fundamental Research
Funds for the Central Universities (No. NS2017067), Program
of Overseas Talents Introduction of Jiangsu Province (No.
BX2019013), and the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (Grant No. 52075248).
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