Design and motion analysis of a frog-like jumping robot based on a soft body detonation drive

Abstract

Inspired by the instantaneous power of the hindlimbs of frogs and the dexterous posture adjustment of their forelimbs, a frog-like jumping robot based on a soft body detonation drive was designed. By combining the flexibility of silicone material and the detonation characteristics of mixed hydrogen–oxygen gas, a soft body detonation driver was constructed to cause the robot to jump from the hindlimbs to achieve a high energy instantaneous explosive force. Moreover, a spring-based forelimb mechanism is designed. This mechanism not only adjusts the robot with different starting jump posture angles but also maintains a smooth landing by providing cushioning. The kinematics and efficiency models of jumping are also established by the D-H parameter method and geometric method, and they are verified and analysed. Finally, combined with the control system, an experimental prototype (weight 495 g) with a height of 135 mm, a trunk length of 120 mm, front and hindlimbs of 195 mm, and a width of 90 mm is developed. The experiment proved that the robot can not only achieve 6 consecutive jumps, a single jump height of 0.6 m and a spanning distance of 1.2 m but also easily cross rectangular obstacles.

Keywords

• Frog-inspired jumping robot
• Soft body detonation actuator
• Jumping performance
• Bioinspired