Palm-top jumping and crawling robot using snap-through buckling of arched elastica supported by Ω-shaped frame

In this paper, we propose a compact jumping robot using snap-through buckling of an arched closed elastica supported by an Ω-shaped frame in an effort to quick stair climbing. The proposed jumping robot is a modified version of an existing robot using spatially deformable arch-type closed elastica, but has much higher jumping capability due to the following two effects of the Ω-shaped frame. One is appropriate elasticity for supporting the elastica, which drastically enhances the ability to generate impulsive forces for jumping. The other one is easy adjustment of the mass balance of the robot so that the tip of the leg attached to the closed elastica, with which the robot applies the impulse force to the ground, pushes near the ground point below its center of gravity. Experimental results using a palm-top 54.5[g] prototype show that the compact and lightweight robot can jump over 200[mm] corresponding to the height of a normal stair step in spite of having a 40[g] payload. We also show that the robot can turn by back-and-forth twist motions of the closed elastica which generates motions of the blade rubbing the ground.