A compact kick-and-bounce mobile robot powered by unidirectional impulse force generators

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a compact kick-and-bounce mobile robot powered by unidirectional impulse force generators. The unidirectional impulse force generator is a simple mechanical device for generating high-frequency impulse forces toward a certain direction unilaterally utilizing snap-through bucklings. The proposed kick-and-bounce robot has a pair of the unidirectional impulse force generators as the muscles of its biped legs. The robot moves forward rapidly by the repetition of the kicks and bounces to the ground. We show that the developed palm-top mobile robot whose weight is of only 67 [g] achieves the velocity of 0.8 [m/s] instantaneously.