A new theory and methods for creating peristaltic motion in a robotic platform

Abstract

We have developed several innovative designs for a new kind of robot that uses peristalsis for locomotion, the same method that earthworms use, and report on the first completed prototype (Fig. 1). This form of locomotion is particularly effective in constrained spaces, and although the motion has been understood for some time, it has rarely been effectively or accurately implemented in a robotic platform. We address some reasons for this, including some common misconceptions within the field. We present a technique using a braided mesh exterior to produce fluid waves of motion along the body of a worm-like robot. We also present a new analytical model of this motion and compare predicted robot velocity to a 2-D simulation. Unlike previous mathematical models of peristaltic motion, our model suggests that friction is not a limiting factor in robot speed, but only in acceleration. The concept is highly scalable, and we present methods of construction at two different scales.