Combustion-Powered 3D Printed Micro Robots Outperform Electric Counterparts

Cornell researchers have developed insect-sized quadruped robots driven by combustion rather than conventional electric mechanisms. Led by Rob Shepherd, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the university, the team used soft microactuators and high-energy-density chemical fuels to achieve superior force output and agility compared to their electrically-driven peers.

You can see the robot in the image below.

The robot’s architecture includes a pair of separated combustion chambers connected to four actuators serving as feet. When methane and oxygen are ignited in these chambers, the actuators expand, enabling the robot to execute various gaits and jumps.

The actuators deliver 9.5 newtons of force, markedly higher than the 0.2 newtons from similar-sized electric robots. The robot’s movement is highly controllable as operators can tweak speed and frequency by adjusting the fuel input and sparking rate. Although currently tethered, plans are in place to develop an untethered version utilizing liquid fuel. Furthermore, the robot’s design allows it to lift 22 times its body weight and operate at frequencies above 100 Hz.

“Being powered by combustion allows them to do a lot of things that robots at this scale haven’t been able to do at this point,” said researcher Cameron Aubin.

“They can navigate really difficult terrains and clear obstacles. It’s an incredible jumper for its size. It’s also really fast on the ground. All of that is due to the force density and the power density of these fuel-driven actuators.”

In the future, the focus will be on parallel arrays of actuators for finer articulations and a transition to liquid fuels for on-board storage. This development trajectory could potentially redefine what small robots are capable of, including applications in complex terrain navigation and micro-mechanical tasks.

Source: therobotreport.com

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