An inchworm-inspired robot capable of carrying payloads of more than 100 g at speeds of roughly 9 mm per second has been developed by a team of researchers at Nagoya University and Tokyo Institute of Technology.

According to its developers, the inchworm-inspired robot could potentially be used to transport objects and place them in precise locations.

Source: Peng, et. al.

Noting that existing inchworm inspired roots are capable of only transporting objects at speeds significantly under the roughly 9 mm per second achieved with this inchworm-inspired model as well as the previous models’ limited ability to handle loads above 40 g, the researchers sought to overcome these limitations by exploring how different parameters impacted performance.

The focus was on factors such as the number of activated body sections, the size and materials of the objects transported, the air pressure supply as well as the command execution rate.

"The inchworm-inspired robot mimics the unique 'Ω'-shaped movement of an inchworm by alternately contracting and extending its body, using McKibben artificial muscles for propulsion," the researchers explained. "This design allows for efficient object transport over various surfaces, achieving high speeds and load capacities while maintaining the adaptability and simplicity characteristic of soft robotics."

In the lab, the researchers reported that the prototype of the inchworm-inspired robot outperformed all other previously deigned inchworm-inspired robots — in terms of both speed and payload capacity. The team added that these robots could one day be used in the transport of delicate objects and automated logistics applications.

The team expects to further improve the system via deep learning techniques and other computational models, which could enable the robots to autonomously adjust their movement strategies according to environmental conditions and object characteristics, thereby improving their performance in real-world scenarios.

The inchworm-inspired robot is detailed in the article, “Controlling a peristaltic robot inspired by inchworm,” which appears in the journal Biomimetic Intelligence and Robotics.