A Crocodile-Like Pneumatic Soft Crawling Robot With Three-Dimensional Deformation Actuators

Pneumatic soft crawling robots (PSCRs) have excellent application prospects in disaster relief and resource exploration due to their adaptability to complex environments. However, the crawling ability of PSCRs, including speed, load capacity, etc., is difficult to meet the requirements of these applications. To this end, a crocodile-like PSCR with three-dimensional deformation actuators is designed. First, based on the analysis of the crocodile structure, four leg actuators and a body actuator are designed, respectively, and their fabrication processes are described in detail. Meanwhile, a complete structure of the crocodile-like PSCR including connectors and air circuits is assembled. Then, the geometric and finite element models of leg actuators are established to analyze bending characteristics. On this basis, according to the relationship among the actuators, different gaits are designed to achieve moving forward, turning, and other movements. Finally, experimental results verify that leg actuators are fabricated accurately and the crocodile-like PSCR has satisfactory crawling ability.