Recently, the robotic hand sector is widely utilized throughout the entire machine industry, where gripping mechanism is gradually becoming more complex and standardized. In this study, studies were conducted to hold irregular, unstructured objects with simpler, more manageable operating principles based on compliant mechanics. In fact, it used the principle of buckling which is not commonly used in mechanical design to provide stable grasping force without giving any damage to objects with uncertain magnitude and rigidity. By using CFM(constant force mechanism) based on the principle of buckling, the force of the object and the contact surface is fixed evenly across the segments, providing a stable grasping force to the object. Also, a bar that serves as a linear guide prevents the hand from buckling to unwanted direction gives elaboration to the hand. With a simpler principle, the lower unit price and higher applicability, there is little friction in the mechanism, and it focused on creating a lightweight hand, which have significance for about 90% of excellent gripping performance.

This study presents the possibility of control of nano-fluidics in the bio-inspired nano-sized ion channel using a field effect transistor (FET) structure. We analyzed effects from main dominant factors to control the ion flow in nano-sized channel such as electro-osmosis, Diffusion effect, Coulomb force between ions and pressure force. Additionally, we suggest a strategy to control the ion flow accurately at the specific position in the nano channel by handling the viscosity, ion molecular density, pressure, gate and trans-cis voltages of FET structure.

Legged locomotion has high mobility on irregular surfaces by touching the ground at discrete points. Inspired by the creature’s legged locomotion, legged robots have been developed to explore unstructured environments. In this paper, we propose a modular crawler that can easily adjust the number of legs for adapting the environment that the robot should move. One module has a pair of legs, so the number of legs can be adjusted by changing the number of modules. All legs are driven by a single driving motor for simple and compact design, so the driving axle of each module is connected by the universal joint. Universal joints between modules enable the body flexion for steering or overcoming higher obstacles. A prototype of crawler with three modules is built and the driving performance and the effect of module lifting on the ability to overcome obstacles are demonstrated by the experiments.

Inspired by small insects, which perform rapid and stable locomotion based on body softness and tripod gait, various milli-scale six-legged crawling robots were developed to move rapidly in harsh environment. In particular, cockroach’s leg compliance was resembled to enhance the locomotion performance of the crawling robots. In this paper, we investigated the effects of changing leg compliance for the locomotion performance of the small light weight legged crawling robot under various payload condition. First, we developed robust milli-scale six-leg crawling robot which actuated by one motor and fabricated in SCM method with light and soft material. Using this robot platform, we measured the running velocity of the robot depending on the leg stiffness and payload. In result, there was optimal range of the leg stiffness enhancing the locomotion ability at each payload condition in the experiment. It suggests that the performance of the crawling robot can be improved by adjusting stiffness of the legs in given payload condition.

This paper presents mechanical design and control of a bio-inspired legged robot. To achieve a fast legged running mechanism, a novel linkage leg structure is designed based on hind legs of domestic cats. The skeletomuscular system and parallel leg movement of a cat are analyzed and applied to determine the link parameters. The hierarchical control architecture is designed according to the biological data to generate and modulate desired gaits. The effectiveness of the leg mechanism design and control is verified experimentally. The legged robot runs at a speed of 46 km/h, which is comparatively higher speed than other existing legged robots.

In This study, the bio-inspired high energy absorption cementitious composites was developed which is a new structural material performing a high energy absorption and ductility property imitated from shells. The flexural performance of the cementitious composites was evaluated and as a result, excellent ductility was obtained.

This paper describes the design concept of a bio-inspired legged underwater and estimating its performance by implementing simulations. Especially the leg structure of an underwater organism, diving beetles, is fully adopted to our designing to employ its efficiency for swimming. To make it possible for the robot to both walk and swim, the transformable kinematic model according to applications of the leg is proposed. To aid in the robot development and estimate swimming performance of the robot in advance, an underwater simulator has been constructed and an approximated model based on the developing robot was set up in the simulation. Furthermore, previous work that we have done, the swimming locomotion produced by a swimming patten generator based on the control parameters, is briefly mentioned in the paper and adopted to the simulation for extensive studies such as path planning and control techniques. Through the results, we established the strategy of leg joints which make the robot swim in the three dimensional space to reach effective controls.