MAMEYAKA III: Climbing Soft Robot with Enhanced Mobility

Abstract

In this study, we improve our previous soft climbing robot to enhance its mobility. We present a novel movement in lateral bending, and it makes the robot possible to locomote laterally while climbing, and the robot can operate in a complex environment by combining climbing and crawling movements. In addition, the most important feature of the proposed robot is that the intelligent behavior is realized by just three motors. The complex behavior to adapt to the environment is produced by the interaction with the soft body and the environment. We developed a prototype made of silicone rubber, and we conducted experiments to confirm its performance. The results confirmed that the proposed robot can successfully perform each movement separately and integrate them to handle complex tasks. Overall, the robot demonstrates high mobility through its adaptive behavior.