Design and Simulation of a Jumping Robot Driven by Shape Memory Alloy and Elastic Energy

摘要

This paper presents the design, simulation, and experimental results of a mesoscale robot that employs the jumping locomotion by using a shape memory alloy (SMA) coil and conventional springs. The energy required for jumping is generated by the SMA coil and it is transferred by way of a link mechanism and finally stored in a spring. The robot is designed to start jumping at the moment when the elastic energy is released. Relevant design issues are discussed and the proposed robot design is validated through computer simulation and experiments with a prototype.