A salamander-like amphibious robot: System and control design

Abstract

In this paper, a salamander-like amphibious robot prototype named Chigon is proposed. The Chigon can realize crawling locomotion on land and swimming locomotion under water, respectively. In order to achieve such two kinds of locomotion, a novel mechanical structure containing four limbs and a multiple segments linked tail is designed. Besides the mechanical modules, on-board controllers are also designed to drive these limbs and the tail. Then, the Chigon may craw on land by turning its four limbs and swim under water by lashing its tail. The corresponding locomotion control law is addressed in detail.