AeroDima: Cheetah-Inspired Aerodynamic Tail Design for Rapid Maneuverability

Abstract

Scientists have long theorized that the cheetah’s tail contributes to its impressive maneuvrability at high speeds by stabilizing its body. This has inspired the design of several agile robots, including Dima - a wheeled platform that used cheetah-inspired inertial tail swings to better execute rapid acceleration and turning motions. Subsequent research suggests that the effectiveness of the cheetah’s tail might be enhanced by aerodynamic effects. In this paper, we introduce AeroDima: a follow-up to the original Dima design that uses aerodynamic drag on the tail as the primary mechanism for generating the stabilizing torque. The resulting sail-like tail is substantially lighter than the original, but still improves the performance of the platform, allowing it to enter turns at a higher speed without toppling. While the yaw rate of the robot was actually higher without the tail, the tail substantially reduced unwanted roll, confirming that this appendage increases maneuvrability by increasing stability, rather than by directly contributing to lateral acceleration.