Design and Analysis of a Burrowing Mechanism Inspired by Mole Incisors for Planetary Exploration

Hongmin Zheng; Zhaofeng Liang; Hongyu Wei; Chaoqun Xiang; Kun Xu; Kunyang Wang; Tao Zhang

doi:10.1109/ICMA57826.2023.10215992

Design and Analysis of a Burrowing Mechanism Inspired by Mole Incisors for Planetary Exploration

Hongmin Zheng
, Zhaofeng Liang
, Hongyu Wei
, Chaoqun Xiang
, Kun Xu
, Kunyang Wang^*
, Tao Zhang^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Planetary exploration is extremely important in ad-dressing the shortage of Earth's resources and understanding the geological structure of extraterrestrial planets. Bioinspired methods provide unique insights into robot design to enhance burrowing efficiency. The mole (Fukomys micklemi) is an underground mammal with sharp incisors and well-evolved forelimbs, and is capable of burrowing underground tunnels with ultra-high energy efficiency. Taking inspiration from mole incisors, this work designed a burrowing mechanism for planetary exploration. The interaction between mole incisors and soil was analyzed by Discrete Element Method (DEM) to obtain the most suitable occlusion method and incisor opening angle. Then, the burrowing mechanism inspired by the incisors was designed and a prototype was developed. An experimental setup was developed to test the burrowing capability of the incisor mechanism. The simulation results fit well with the experimental results. This work optimized the incisor occlusion method and can be used to promote the burrowing capability of mole-inspired burrowing robots.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	2023 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages	1912-1917
Number of pages	6
ISBN (Electronic)	9798350320831
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/ICMA57826.2023.10215992
State	Published - 2023
Event	20th IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023 - Harbin, Heilongjiang, China Duration: 6 Aug 2023 → 9 Aug 2023

Publication series

Name	2023 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023

Conference

Conference	20th IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023
Country/Territory	China
City	Harbin, Heilongjiang
Period	6/08/23 → 9/08/23

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

Keywords

Burrowing mechanism
Mechanism Design
Moleinspired robot
Planetary robot
Robotic incisor

Access to Document

10.1109/ICMA57826.2023.10215992

Cite this

Zheng, H., Liang, Z., Wei, H., Xiang, C., Xu, K., Wang, K., & Zhang, T. (2023). Design and Analysis of a Burrowing Mechanism Inspired by Mole Incisors for Planetary Exploration. In 2023 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023 (pp. 1912-1917). (2023 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICMA57826.2023.10215992

Zheng, Hongmin ; Liang, Zhaofeng ; Wei, Hongyu et al. / Design and Analysis of a Burrowing Mechanism Inspired by Mole Incisors for Planetary Exploration. 2023 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2023. pp. 1912-1917 (2023 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023).

@inproceedings{3738d0bbab60455f931196b6004c6daa,

title = "Design and Analysis of a Burrowing Mechanism Inspired by Mole Incisors for Planetary Exploration",

abstract = "Planetary exploration is extremely important in ad-dressing the shortage of Earth's resources and understanding the geological structure of extraterrestrial planets. Bioinspired methods provide unique insights into robot design to enhance burrowing efficiency. The mole (Fukomys micklemi) is an underground mammal with sharp incisors and well-evolved forelimbs, and is capable of burrowing underground tunnels with ultra-high energy efficiency. Taking inspiration from mole incisors, this work designed a burrowing mechanism for planetary exploration. The interaction between mole incisors and soil was analyzed by Discrete Element Method (DEM) to obtain the most suitable occlusion method and incisor opening angle. Then, the burrowing mechanism inspired by the incisors was designed and a prototype was developed. An experimental setup was developed to test the burrowing capability of the incisor mechanism. The simulation results fit well with the experimental results. This work optimized the incisor occlusion method and can be used to promote the burrowing capability of mole-inspired burrowing robots.",

keywords = "Burrowing mechanism, Mechanism Design, Moleinspired robot, Planetary robot, Robotic incisor",

author = "Hongmin Zheng and Zhaofeng Liang and Hongyu Wei and Chaoqun Xiang and Kun Xu and Kunyang Wang and Tao Zhang",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 IEEE.; 20th IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023 ; Conference date: 06-08-2023 Through 09-08-2023",

year = "2023",

doi = "10.1109/ICMA57826.2023.10215992",

language = "英语",

series = "2023 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023",

publisher = "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.",

pages = "1912--1917",

booktitle = "2023 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023",

address = "美国",

}

Zheng, H, Liang, Z, Wei, H, Xiang, C, Xu, K, Wang, K & Zhang, T 2023, Design and Analysis of a Burrowing Mechanism Inspired by Mole Incisors for Planetary Exploration. in 2023 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023. 2023 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., pp. 1912-1917, 20th IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, 6/08/23. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICMA57826.2023.10215992

Design and Analysis of a Burrowing Mechanism Inspired by Mole Incisors for Planetary Exploration. / Zheng, Hongmin; Liang, Zhaofeng; Wei, Hongyu et al.
2023 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2023. p. 1912-1917 (2023 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Design and Analysis of a Burrowing Mechanism Inspired by Mole Incisors for Planetary Exploration

AU - Zheng, Hongmin

AU - Liang, Zhaofeng

AU - Wei, Hongyu

AU - Xiang, Chaoqun

AU - Xu, Kun

AU - Wang, Kunyang

AU - Zhang, Tao

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Planetary exploration is extremely important in ad-dressing the shortage of Earth's resources and understanding the geological structure of extraterrestrial planets. Bioinspired methods provide unique insights into robot design to enhance burrowing efficiency. The mole (Fukomys micklemi) is an underground mammal with sharp incisors and well-evolved forelimbs, and is capable of burrowing underground tunnels with ultra-high energy efficiency. Taking inspiration from mole incisors, this work designed a burrowing mechanism for planetary exploration. The interaction between mole incisors and soil was analyzed by Discrete Element Method (DEM) to obtain the most suitable occlusion method and incisor opening angle. Then, the burrowing mechanism inspired by the incisors was designed and a prototype was developed. An experimental setup was developed to test the burrowing capability of the incisor mechanism. The simulation results fit well with the experimental results. This work optimized the incisor occlusion method and can be used to promote the burrowing capability of mole-inspired burrowing robots.

AB - Planetary exploration is extremely important in ad-dressing the shortage of Earth's resources and understanding the geological structure of extraterrestrial planets. Bioinspired methods provide unique insights into robot design to enhance burrowing efficiency. The mole (Fukomys micklemi) is an underground mammal with sharp incisors and well-evolved forelimbs, and is capable of burrowing underground tunnels with ultra-high energy efficiency. Taking inspiration from mole incisors, this work designed a burrowing mechanism for planetary exploration. The interaction between mole incisors and soil was analyzed by Discrete Element Method (DEM) to obtain the most suitable occlusion method and incisor opening angle. Then, the burrowing mechanism inspired by the incisors was designed and a prototype was developed. An experimental setup was developed to test the burrowing capability of the incisor mechanism. The simulation results fit well with the experimental results. This work optimized the incisor occlusion method and can be used to promote the burrowing capability of mole-inspired burrowing robots.

KW - Burrowing mechanism

KW - Mechanism Design

KW - Moleinspired robot

KW - Planetary robot

KW - Robotic incisor

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85170822165

U2 - 10.1109/ICMA57826.2023.10215992

DO - 10.1109/ICMA57826.2023.10215992

M3 - 会议稿件

AN - SCOPUS:85170822165

T3 - 2023 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023

SP - 1912

EP - 1917

BT - 2023 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023

PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.

T2 - 20th IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023

Y2 - 6 August 2023 through 9 August 2023

ER -

Zheng H, Liang Z, Wei H, Xiang C, Xu K, Wang K et al. Design and Analysis of a Burrowing Mechanism Inspired by Mole Incisors for Planetary Exploration. In 2023 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. 2023. p. 1912-1917. (2023 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, ICMA 2023). doi: 10.1109/ICMA57826.2023.10215992

Design and Analysis of a Burrowing Mechanism Inspired by Mole Incisors for Planetary Exploration

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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