Toward the smooth mesh climbing of a miniature robot using bioinspired soft and expandable claws

TL;DR

This paper presents a bioinspired miniature robot with soft, expandable claws that mimic beetle climbing mechanisms, enabling it to traverse complex mesh surfaces and steep inclines with smooth, controllable motion.

Contribution

The study introduces the first micro-scale robot capable of climbing both mesh surfaces and steep inclines by mimicking beetle claw mechanics using soft, expandable artificial claws.

Findings

Robot can climb mesh surfaces at 60° incline

Climbing mechanism is inspired by beetle claws

Robot transitions between different surface types

Abstract

While most micro-robots face difficulty traveling on rugged and uneven terrain, beetles can walk smoothly on the complex substrate without slipping or getting stuck on the surface due to their stiffness-variable tarsi and expandable hooks on the tip of tarsi. In this study, we found that beetles actively bent and expanded their claws regularly to crawl freely on mesh surfaces. Inspired by the crawling mechanism of the beetles, we designed an 8-cm miniature climbing robot equipping artificial claws to open and bend in the same cyclic manner as natural beetles. The robot can climb freely with a controllable gait on the mesh surface, steep incline of the angle of 60{\deg}, and even transition surface. To our best knowledge, this is the first micro-scale robot that can climb both the mesh surface and cliffy incline.