Proposal of Propulsion Unit Based on Earthworm Setae for Underwater Excavation Robot

Abstract

In this paper, we developed a propulsion unit with bristles imitating the setae of earthworm. This propulsion unit is installed in SEAVO: sub-seafloor excavation robot. To realize underwater excavation by SEAVO, it is necessary to move the soft and fluid sedimentary layer of seafloor surface. As a solution, we focused on the setae of earthworm which live in mud and soft soil. Then, we developed the propulsion unit with bristles imitating the earthworm's setae and measured the performance of the setae-attached propulsion unit. Comparing the measurement result of the bristlesattached propulsion unit with the previous propulsion unit, we confirmed the usefulness of the bristles-attached propulsion unit.