Caterpillar locomotion: A new model for soft- bodied climbing and burrowing robots

.Abstract – Caterpillars are some of the most successful scansorial and burrowing animals and yet they lack a hard skeleton. Their hydrostatic body and prolegs provide astonishing fault-tolerant manoeuvrability and powerful, stable, passive attachment. This paper describes some of the biomechanics of caterpillar locomotion and gripping. It then describes our recent work to build a multifunctional robotic climbing machine based on the biomechanics and neural control system (neuromechanics) of the caterpillar, Manduca sexta. The new robot (“Softbot”) is continuously deformable and capable of collapsing and crumpling into a small volume. Eventually it will be able to climb textured surfaces and irregular objects, crawl along ropes and wires, or burrow into winding, confined spaces. These robots will be simple, cheap (disposable), and scaleable. They will have numerous applications including search and rescue in emergency situations and mine reconnaissance in complex environments such as rubble-fields.