| Volume 25 Issue 5/6 - Publication Date: 1 May/June 2006 |
| Special Issue on the Ninth International Symposium
on Experimental Robotics, 2004 |
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| Modeling and Experiments on a
Legged Microrobot Locomoting in a Tubular, Compliant and Slippery Environment |
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| C. Stefanini, A. Menciassi,
and P. Dario Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, CRIM Lab, Viale
Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 - Pontedera (Pisa) Italy |
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| This paper presents the concept
and preliminary modeling of a legged microrobot locomoting in a tubular,
compliant and slippery environment. The envisaged application field is related
to capsular endoscopy, i.e., the development of a mobile swallowable capsule
for navigation inside the gastrointestinal tract for diagnosis and therapy.
After introducing and discussing the issue of autonomous locomotion of endoscopic
devices, with reference to worldwide ongoing research in the field, the
legged solution is proposed and peculiarities of this approach are described.
The importance of simulation for developing a legged device is discussed
and a locomotion model is presented. Experimental results are described
for the definition of biomechanical parameters necessary in the model. Thanks
to this work first simulations have been obtained, in which the microrobot's
body moves according to arbitrary gait patterns for the legs and to its
interaction with tissue. The resulting tool will be used for the design
synthesis, for defining the optimal number of legs and the best number of
degrees of freedom for each leg. It will be also used for controlling the
device, by identifying the gait pattern to be adopted in order to obtain
different capsule movements. |
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| Multimedia Key |
= Video |
 = Data |
= Code |
= Image |
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Extension |
Type |
Description |
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1 |
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Example
1: Endoscopic view of biotribological tests. (1.7 MB) |
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2 |
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Example
2: Virtual animation of the legged capsule advancing by using
synchronous gait. (1.5 MB) |
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3 |
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Example
3: Virtual animation of the legged capsule advancing by using
alternate gait. (1.2 MB) |
| 4 |
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Example
4: Robotic prototype locomoting by exploiting the same gait found
in simulation. (8.1 MB) |
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