Design of a Piezoelectric Meso-Scale Mobile Robot: A Compliant Amplification Approach

In this paper, the development of a novel piezoelectric-based locomotion design for a meso-scale mobile robot is described. The design exploits a compliant mechanical structure that enables piezoelectric forces to be amplified and transmitted to “legs” that propel the robot through a lift and pull scheme. The lift and pull design contrasts with typical slip/stick approaches that assume the inertia effects of the robot will allow the robot to slip on a smooth surface. By eliminating the slipping assumption, the potential surfaces that the proposed robot can traverse is significantly extended. Discussions are provided regarding the proposed locomotion method, kinematic modeling and system constraints, mechanical optimization, and control of the meso-scale robot.