WO2021095061A1

WO2021095061A1 - Avian snake robot

Info

Publication number: WO2021095061A1
Application number: PCT/IN2020/050963
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sarvesh Santosh KARKHANIS
Original assignee: Karkhanis Sarvesh Santosh
Priority date: 2019-11-16
Filing date: 2020-11-16
Publication date: 2021-05-20

Abstract

Disclosed is a biomimicking robotic system that is modular, mobile, internally actuated, powered, wireless, remotely controllable and autonomous capable. The system contains a maneuverable robot that is made up of several modular units and possesses several degrees of freedom. The disclosed system implements biomimicked naturally occurring gaits for navigation, which are found in class Reptillia of Animal Kingdom. In addition to having biomimicked gaits, the robot possesses capability to become airborne and land at any moment while navigating. The robot which is part of the disclosed system is durable and possesses capability to navigate in all terrains. Hence the disclosed robotic system is terrestrial, aquatic and aerial.

Description

Background of The Invention

[0009] Disclosed is a biomimicking robotic system that is maneuverable, modular, mobile, internally actuated, powered, wireless, remotely controllable and autonomous capable. A robot might be defined as a machine that is capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically, especially one programmable by a computer. A robotic System is a whole set of physical and logical components that are implemented in order to deploy and run a robot. There are various design techniques to design a successful robotic system. Some industrial robotic systems which look like industrial machine carry out specific industrial tasks. Some transport focused robotics systems have physical components that look like traditional vehicles and perform similar tasks to the traditional vehicles. There are some biomimicking robotic systems which mimic certain naturally existent aspects of one or more living species.

[0010] A common example of a biomimicking robotic system is a humanoid robot system, which mimics human body's physical attributes, actions, sensory characteristics and communication aspects. There are other biomimicking robotic systems such as the "Aibo" by Sony Corporation which mimics physical aspects and actions of species from the Canidae class of the Animal Kingdom. Similarly, the disclosed biomimicking system is an Avian Robotic Snake system which combines various attributes of two classes the Animal Kingdom. The disclosed system mimics physical attributes, actions, gaits, sensory characteristics of species which are part of the Reptillia class of Animal Kingdom; and also possesses capability to become airborne which is a characteristic of majority of species from the Aves class of the Animal Kingdom. [0011] Currently, there exists a number of prior art that describe robotic parts which display similar characteristic to a reptilian species. The German patent DE3464020D1 describes a multi-joint robotic arm which has similar physical appearance to a reptilian species. The US Patent US5386741A describes a Robotic Snake which biomimics certain gaits of reptilian species. Similarly, the US Patent US5337732A describes a Robotic Endoscopy apparatus, which has multiple links and has appearance similar to a reptilian species; and is anticipated to be utilized in surgeries and other surgical procedures.

[0012] None of the foregoing systems, devices, designs and methods are believed to implement a biomimicking flying robot which is modular; that navigates through terrain by utilizing naturally occurring gaits from Reptillian class of animal species; which can navigate through any kind of terrain and ecology including terrestrial, aquatic and avian; and also has capability to become airborne at any given interval of time.

[0013] The disclosed invention, which is a System, satisfies the foregoing needs by implementing a full biomimicking robotic system that is customizable, maneuverable, is capable of getting airborne and flying; and which mimics the physical aspects, gaits, actions and sensory attributes related to reptilian class of Animal Kingdom in taxonomic classification. The system has both physical and logical components. Physical components pf the system include a modular biomimicking robot which contains on-board electronics, computing devices, imaging devices, sensors, actuators and power source; and controller devices to control and monitor the system. Logical components of the system include the wired and/or wireless communication links, computer programs running in the robot and other devices; and the algorithms implemented for navigation, data acquisition and data analysis. [0014] The robot, which is part of the disclosed System, has multiple links made up of modules of same or similar physical characteristics. The robot may possess any number of such links, thereby customizing the length and maneuverability of the system. Each of these modules which for a robot, contain one or several actuators; and a control circuitry for the actuators. These modules may also contain independent power sources such as a battery and a number of sensors. The various sensors which are part of these modules can take measurements such as but not limited to ambient temperature, pressure, humidity, altitude, attitude, directions, global positioning, heading and speed. A locking mechanism or a hole is included in these modules to physically connect these modules to each other. The "head" of the snake robot which is made up of a specialized module that contains a central processor and circuitry which is analogous to the "brain" of a biological snake. Rest of the modules of the snake robot are connected to the head via a wired or a wireless link. This bi-directional "brain link" which is analogous to the CNS (central nervous system) of a reptilian species, sends and receives centralized signals to other modules which are related to attributes such as but not limited to navigation, syncing of movements, and sensory responses.

[0015] The robot which is part of the disclosed System, additionally has a special class of modules which provide flying capability to the robot. These avian modules have thrusters connected to them which aid in flying. These thrusters are either retractable or fixed. There is a controlling system for these thrusters embedded in these modules. These modules also contain extra avionic sensors which provide useful measurements such as Yaw, Pitch and Roll orientation, and air speed. These modules are intermittently connected to the robot as per requirements. [0016] The robot is controlled using controller sub-system which is part of the disclosed System.

The controller sub-system may include physical control devices which have multiple momentary, ordinary and toggle switches. These control devices may include LCD screens which display the status and real-time data of essential attributes of the system. The controller may also be in the form of a software running on a mobile device or a computer device which sends messages to the robot through a wired or a wireless link.

[0017] The logical components of the disclosed System include various software, communication links, movement styles, gaits and algorithms. There are various kinds of software used in the system. As mentioned before, a controlling software could be part of the system. Also, the on-board computer processors on the robot run embedded software which manage various aspects such as motor actuation, sensory responses and movement related decision making. There are several algorithms implemented through the software in the system. These algorithms influence the gaits and movements of the robot. These algorithms also manage the communication between various parts of the system.

[0018] As mentioned before, the snake robot which is part of the disclosed System, navigates by utilizing naturally occurring gaits displayed by various species belonging to the Reptillia class of the Animal Kingdom in taxonomy. One of the gaits is Lateral Undulation utilized by many species of the class Reptilian, which utilize the phenomenon called serpentine curve to move forward. Another such gait is Rectilinear Motion, which is naturally found in species of Pythonidae and Boa order of Reptilian class of taxonomy, in which a snake moves forward in a straight line by pushing and pulling various longitudinal segments of its body. Sidewinding is another such gait naturally found in species of Colubridae order of the Reptilian class in taxonomy, in which the snake moves laterally while navigating on unstable terrain such as sand dunes. There are many more such gaits which could be implemented through the disclosed robotic System for navigation.

[0019] In addition to depicting naturally occurring gaits from Reptilian species, the avian snake robot, which is part of the disclosed System also possesses a capability to fly in a manner similar to that of shown by species of Aves class of the animal kingdom. The avian snake robot, which is part of the disclosed System, has special modules which contain thrusters; which can push the air around to become airborne. There could varying number of thruster modules attached to an avian snake robot as per the design needs. These thruster modules are controlled by a controller sub-system in a way that the avian snake robot can become airborne and land in a controlled manner.

[0020] The disclosed robotic System has a number of application, which are predominantly humanitarian in nature. Reptilian species are known to have a unique ability to navigate through very difficult terrains. In that regard, the disclosed robotic system can be very useful in search and rescue operations, due to its ability to navigate through all kinds of terrains. During any natural calamities, the robot can be used to rescue people, thereby saving lives of humans and other animals. Having an ability to navigate in both water and air, the robotic system can be used to save people from drowning in rescue operations. Besides humanitarian application, the disclosed robotic system can be utilized for research of bio-mechanical systems.

[0021] Hence, in summary, the disclosed invention is a biomimicking robotic System, which contains a robot that possesses several degrees of freedom; has an ability to navigate through all terrains by utilizing natural gaits of reptilians species; which also has an ability to become airborne. The system has both physical and logical components, which govern the actuation, motion and control of the snake robot. The disclosed system could prove to be very useful for humanitarian purpose; thereby being a potentially life-saving robotic system.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022] Having thus briefly described the invention, the same will become better understood from the following detailed discussion, taken in conjunction with the appended drawings wherein

[0023] FIG. 1 is the top view schematic drawing of the First Embodiment of the avian snake robot, which is part of the disclosed system in accordance with the invention.

[0024] FIG. 2 is the top view schematic drawing that depicts the Lateral Undulation gait of the First Embodiment of the avian snake robot, which is part of the disclosed system in accordance with the invention.

[0025] FIG. 3 is the side view schematic drawing of the First Embodiment of the avian snake robot, which is part of the disclosed system in accordance with the invention.

[0026] FIG. 4 is the top view schematic drawing that depicts the gait Rectilinear Motion of the First Embodiment of the avian snake robot, which is part of the disclosed system in accordance with the invention.

[0027] FIG. 5 is the top view schematic drawing of the Second Embodiment of the avian snake robot, which is part of the disclosed system in accordance with the invention.

[0028] FIG. 6 is the top view schematic drawing that depicts the circular gesture that is used while flying by the Second Embodiment of the avian snake robot, which is part of the disclosed system in accordance with the invention. Detailed Description of the Drawings

[0029] FIG. 1 Is the top view schematic drawing of the First Embodiment of the avian snake robot, which is part of the disclosed system in accordance with the invention. The "Head Module" 101 hereafter referred to as Ml is the first module of the robot that contains the central processor in addition to actuators, that manages tasks such as navigating, syncing motion and data collection of the snake. The second module 120 hereafter referred to as M2 is a "General Module" that has actuators inside. The third module 130 hereafter referred to as M3 is an "Avian Module" that has two thrusters attached to it. The link that connects these thrusters 131 could be either fixed or retractable and/or foldable. The fourth 140 and fifth 150 modules hereafter referred to as M4 and M5 respectively are "General Modules". The sixth module 160 hereafter referred to as M6 is again an "Avian Module" which has same characteristics as M3. The seventh 170 and the eighth 180 modules hereafter referred to as M7 and M8 respectively are again "General Modules" having same physical characteristics as the M2 module. There are total eight modules in the First Embodiment of the avian snake robot, which is part of the disclosed System. The System can implement any number of such modules with different combination of the types of the modules.

[0030] FIG. 2 Is the top view schematic drawing that depicts the Lateral Undulation gait of the First Embodiment of the avian snake robot, which is part of the disclosed system in accordance with the invention. The Ml module 210 contains the processor which controls the gait. This gait is utilized for terrestrial as well as aquatic navigation of the avian snake robot. There is a curve 220 created by a few modules that make up the avian snake robot.

Rest of the modules create a curve 230 in the opposite direction. By continuous undulation of such curves, the kinetic energy is passed towards the robot's head 210 thus moving the snake forward. There could be any number of such undulations used for navigation.

[0031] FIG. 3 Is the side view schematic drawing of the First Embodiment of the avian snake robot, which is part of the disclosed system in accordance with the invention. The drawing clearly displays the Ml "Head Module" 310, the M2 "General Module" 320, and the flexible links 330 between the different modules.

[0032] FIG. 4 Is the top view schematic drawing that depicts the gait Rectilinear Motion of the First Embodiment of the avian snake robot, which is part of the disclosed system in accordance with the invention. The avian snake robot moves forward due to the synced longitudinal motion of its modules. The Ml "Head Module" 410, the M5 module 430 and M8 module 450 are touching the ground, whereas other modules which are lifted to a specific angle create such curves 420 and 440 that push the whole robot forward, thereby aiding navigation.

[0033] FIG. 5 is the top view schematic drawing of the Second Embodiment of the avian snake robot, which is part of the disclosed system in accordance with the invention. The Second Embodiment of the avian snake robot differs from the First Embodiment of the avian snake robot illustrated in FIG.l, such that the Second Embodiment utilizes different variety of modules. In that way, any such modules which satisfy the requirement of creating a avian snake robot can be used. In the Second Embodiment of the avian snake robot, the "Head Module" 501 used, hereafter referred to as SMI, is the module that controls the gaits and syncing of the robot similar to Ml module. The second module 520 hereafter referred to as SM2 is a "Thruster Module" that contains a thruster 521 that may include parts such as but not limited to a motor, a propeller, a motor controller and a battery. The thrusters 521 on the SM2 "Thruster Module" 520 are either fixed or retractable. The third module 530 hereafter referred to as SM3 is a "General Module" similar to M2 module. The fourth module 540 hereafter referred to as SM4 is a "Thruster Module" similar to SM2 module. The fifth module 550 hereafter referred to as SM5 is a "General Module" similar to SM3 module. The sixth module 560 hereafter referred to as SM6 is a "Thruster Module" similar to SM2 module. The seventh module 570 hereafter referred to as SM7 is a "General Module" similar to SM3 module. The eighth module 580 hereafter referred to as SM8 is a "Thruster Module" similar to SM2 module. There are total eight modules in the Second Embodiment of the avian snake robot, which is part of the disclosed System. The System can implement any number of such modules with different combination of the types of the modules as per requirements.

[0034] FIG. 6 is the top view schematic drawing that depicts the circular gesture that is used while flying by the Second Embodiment of the avian snake robot, which is part of the disclosed system in accordance with the invention. While in the flying position, the Second Embodiment of the avian snake robot which is part of the disclosed System, displays the circular gesture illustrated in FIG .6 which is a naturally found gesture in the Reptillian Species of the Animal Kingdom of taxonomy. In this gesture, the SMI "Head Module" 601 joins itself to the last SM8 "Thruster Module" 640, forming a circular shape of the robot. The flexible links 620 between the modules are curved. The thrusters 630 on the four thruster modules are then controlled so that the avian snake robot steadily becomes airborne.

Claims

What is claimed is -

1) An Avian Snake Robot System wherein the system contains an internally actuated avian robotic snake device that is biomimicking, mobile, internally actuated, powered, wireless, remotely controllable and autonomous capable; remote control unit and underlying software.

2) Avian Snake Robot Device from Claim 1 that contains several actuated articulation modular units of both avian and non-avian type, which are serially connected wherein: each of said articulation units comprises a rear section, a fore section, and a lengthwise interconnect section, wherein said rear section and said fore section are rotatable relative to each other using an internal actuator around a fixed reference point.

3) Avian Snake Robot Device from Claim 1 that contains several sensors such as but not limited to radio communication sensor, Image sensor, Video sensor, temperature sensor, pressure sensor, light intensity sensor, carbon dioxide gas sensor, carbon monoxide gas sensor, barometric pressure sensor, touch sensor, obstacle avoiding distance sensor, light detection and ranging sensor (LIDAR), radio detection and ranging sensor (RADAR) and sensor that control the actuators such as motors.

4) The Avian type of modular articulation unit from Claim 2 means a modular articulation unit that contains a real section; a fore section; an actuator such as but not limited to an electric motor unit; one or more air thrusters capable of pushing air in one direction thereby providing a lift in the air; and a power unit such as but not limited to a lithium battery.

5) The non-avian type of modular articulation unit from Claim 2 means a modular articulation unit that contains a real section; a fore section; an actuator such as but not limited to an electric motor unit; one or more air thrusters capable of pushing air in one direction thereby providing a lift in the air; and a power unit such as but not limited to a lithium battery. 6) Avian Snake Robot Device from Claim 1 that is mobile and biomimicking means it is able maneuver on surface mimicking gaits such as but not limited to Lateral Undulation, Rectilinear Motion and Sidewinding that are demonstrated by reptilian species in vivo.

7) Avian Snake Robot Device from Claim 1 that is capable of lifting itself in the air, maneuvering itself in the air and hovering itself in the air for an height that is equal to or greater than 5 meters by utilizing air thrusters described in claim 4.

8) Avian Snake Robot Device from Claim 1 that is capable maneuvering itself in the air by utilizing air thrusters described in claim 4; meaning while lifted above the ground without any physical support from the ground; the Avian Snake Robot Device is able to navigate in the air, change its direction in the air, change its height in the air and land safely back to the ground from the air.

9) Avian Snake Robot Device from Claim 1 that is capable of hovering itself in the air by utilizing air thrusters described in claim 4; meaning the Avian Snake Robot Device is capable of lifting itself at an height above its starting height; and is able to relatively stay at the same or almost same position in the air for a time that is greater than 10 seconds.

10) The remote control unit described in Claim 1 that is capable of connecting wirelessly to the internal control unit of the Avian Snake Robot Device described in Claim 2; while providing instructions to maneuver to the Avian Snake Robot Device and receive sensor data such as but not limited to video, temperature, distance, carbon dioxide levels from sensors connected to the Avian Snake Robot Device.

11) The underlying software from Claim 1 means any software and its underlying algorithm that is capable of directing the motion and maneuver routines of the Avian Snake Robot Device; software that is capable of facilitating communication between the Avian Snake Robot Device and the remote control unit; and software that is capable of aiding autonomous decision making in the

Avian Snake Robot Device.