Proposal of Throwing and Jumping Tool Aiming Fast Access and Efficient Search

In order to enhance the accessibility to the disaster site from safe places and aiming a fast inspection of the area, the authors have proposed a locomotion method consisted of a robot throwing one of its parts into the site, and this thrown part (child machine) performs the inspection by rolling and jumping locomotion. To realize this method, the selected main actuator is the pneumatic cylinder, which is capable of using large energy density while being compact in size. This paper proposes a novel pneumatic cylinder in order to enhance its power to throw the child machine and a control method to increase accuracy of the throw. In addition, the developed prototypes equipped with the novel actuator show high efficiency of accessibility and inspection time.