Abstract
This paper introduces a new dynamical model for a continuous snake-like robot and a controller yielding slithering motion on a smooth curved surface. Smooth curve models are common tools in studies on snake-like robots, however, the application of those models is limited to cases without sideslips. Our new model can deal with locomotion with sideslips on curved surfaces. Moreover, the numerical simulation of climbing up the surface of a cylinder based on our model reveals the important role of the tangential friction of the body, which was underestimated by previous studies. The result illuminates the trade-off relation between the energy efficiency and the reachability of the snake-like robots.
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Abbreviations
- t :
-
The time
- σ :
-
The arc-length parameter
- x(σ, t):
-
The position of the body segment at (σ, t)
- {e r, e p, e y}:
-
The backbone frame along the curve x
- {e r, e b, e n}:
-
The Darboux frame along the curve x
- ω bc(σ, t):
-
The angular velocity of the backbone frame at (σ, t) with respect to itself
- ω d(σ, t):
-
The angular velocity of the backbone frame at (σ, t) with respect to {er(σ, t), eb(σ, t), en(σ, t)}
- \(\boldsymbol{\tilde{\omega}}_{d}(\sigma,t)\) :
-
The angular velocity of the Darboux frame at (σ, t) with respect to itself
- \(\begin{bmatrix}\omega_{r}(\sigma,t)\\ \omega_{p}(\sigma,t)\\ \omega_{y}(\sigma,t)\end{bmatrix}\) :
-
The components of ωbc(σ, t)
- \(\begin{bmatrix}\omega_{r}(\sigma,t)\\ \omega_{b}(\sigma,t)\\ \omega_{n}(\sigma,t)\end{bmatrix}\) :
-
The components of ωd(σ, t)
- \(\begin{bmatrix}\tilde{\omega}_{r}(\sigma,t)\\ \tilde{\omega}_{b}(\sigma,t)\\ \tilde{\omega}_{n}(\sigma,t)\end{bmatrix}\) :
-
The components of \(\boldsymbol{\tilde{\omega}}_{d}(\sigma,t)\)
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The authors declare that there is no competing financial interest or personal relationship that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Shunichi Azuma is a Senior Editor of International Journal of Control, Automation, and Systems. Senior Editor status has no bearing on editorial consideration.
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This research was supported by JSPS KAKENHI JP18K04011 and JP21H01285.
Koki Harada received his B.E. and M.E. degrees from Nagoya University in 2020, and 2022, respectively. His research interests include bio-inspired robots, space robots, and nonlinear control. He received the Student Presentation Award (SCI’ 24) in 2024. Mr. Harada is a member of IEEE, SICE, and ISCIE
Ryo Ariizumi received his B.E., M.E., and Ph.D. degrees from Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan, in 2010, 2012, and 2015, respectively. He was a research fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science from 2014 to 2015 and an assistant professor at Nagoya University from 2015 to 2023. He is currently an associate professor at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. His research interests include the control of redundant robots and the optimization of robotic systems. He received the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Japan Chapter Young Award (IROS2014) in 2014 and the Best Paper Award from the Robotics Society of Japan (RSJ) in 2018.
Toru Asai received his B.E., M.E., and Ph.D. degrees from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, in 1991, 1993, and 1996, respectively. He has worked as a Research Fellow of JSPS between 1996 and 1998. In 1999, he joined the faculty of Osaka University. He was an Associate Professor of the sub-department of Mechatronics between 2015 and 2016 and the Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering between 2017 and 2023, Nagoya University. He is currently a professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chubu University, since 2024. His research interests include robust control, switching control, parameter estimation, and industrial applications. Dr. Asai is a member of IEEE, SICE, ISIJ, and ISCIE.
Shun-ichi Azuma received his B.E. degree in electrical engineering from Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima, Japan, in 1999, and his M.E. and Ph.D. degrees in control engineering from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, in 2001 and 2004, respectively. He was an Assistant Professor with the Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Uji, Japan, from 2005, and an Associate Professor from 2011. From 2017 to 2022, he was a Professor with the Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan. He is currently a Professor with the Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University. His research interests include the analysis and control of hybrid systems. Dr. Azuma was an Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems from 2013 to 2019, and has been an Associate Editor for the IEEE CSS Conference Editorial Board since 2011, IFAC Journal Automatica since 2014, Nonlinear Analysis: Hybrid Systems since 2017, and IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control since 2019. He was a Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science from 2004 to 2005.
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Harada, K., Ariizumi, R., Asai, T. et al. The Dynamical Model and the Slithering Controller of Continuous Snakelike Robot on Smooth Surface. Int. J. Control Autom. Syst. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12555-023-0424-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12555-023-0424-5