Mechanical Engineering
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Gecko Robot
I worked with a small team in a bio-inspired robotics course to design this Gecko robot, which mimics the motion of the reptile in order to traverse a variety of surfaces. The goal of the project was to design a bio-inspired robot capable of traversing a surface at a high rate. Leveraging my experience developing the quadcopter rover transforming vehicle, I designed the legs and the articulating spine of the robot. The robot is 3D printed out of ABS, PLA, and ninja flex and is controlled by an Arduino. It uses two servo motors per leg and a servo motor to articulate the spine.
The legs of the robot are designed to mimic the legs of geckos and alligators. The two animals have the same gait pattern, though alligators stand high above the ground with there legs extended, while geckos stand low with there belly on the ground. By designing a robot that can mimic both animals, the robot is more adaptive to different terrains.
To mimic the structure and motion of the animal legs, the foreleg is deigned to remain perpendicular to the ground throughout the legs full path of motion. This is accomplished with a double arm mechanism similar to the control arms of a car suspension, actuated with a double linkage system. This double linkage system allows for a high torque ratio, so that the robot can carry significant weight. The legs rotate at the hip using a simple gear system with a 2:1 torque ratio.
