Modeling and Experimental Study of a Two Modes Excitation Travelling Wave Piezoelectric Miniature Robot

Abstract

In this paper, the operation principle of a new type of piezoelectric miniature robot for terrestrial locomotion is presented. A prototype consists of an aluminum beam structure, with two non-collocated piezoelectric patches bonded on its surface was fabricated and tested to demonstrate the generation of a traveling wave based on a two modes excitation on the beam for propulsion. A numerical model was developed and used to study and optimize the generated motion of the robot. An experimental characterization of the robot has been done and results are given in this paper.