Analysis and simulation of a jumping robot actuated by shape memory alloy

Abstract

This paper reports design, analysis, and simulation of a mesoscale robot that is designed to locomote by jumping. Jumping can be quite advantageous over other locomotion ways on the ground, especially in terms of ability of obstacle avoidance. First bioinspired design of a jumping mechanism using only one shape memory alloy (SMA) spring is introduced. The use ofSMAspring reduces theweight and the complexity of the robot. Then design of a landing mechanism and analysis on stable landing are described. The robot is designed in order for its center of gravity (COG) to lie inside the safety cone. Methods for choosing optimum parameters in the robot design such as the spring stiffness and the tilt angle are also presented through mechanical analysis and simulation.