Peristaltic Crawling Robot Based on the Locomotion Mechanism of Earthworms

An earthworm moves by a locomotion mechanism called peristaltic crawling. This mechanism requires less space than others and allows for movement across irregular ground and inside a narrow pipe.In this study, we developed a peristaltic crawling robot using several servo motors, and discussed fundamental characteristics of the locomotion patterns.As a result, it was confirmed that the motions of the robot resemble those of the actual earthworm. Furthermore, the experimental results were obtained that there is an appropriate period for the peristaltic crawling motion of the robot, and the velocity tends to decrease with decreasing friction force, etc.