Design and Performance Test of an H-shaped Bionic Piezoelectric Robot Based on the Standing Wave Principle

In this paper, inspired by the running motion gait of a cheetah, an H-shaped bionic piezoelectric robot (H-BPR) based on the standing wave principle is proposed and designed. The piezoelectric robot realizes linear motion, turning motion, and turning motion with different radii by the voltage differential driving method. A prototype with a weight of 38 g and dimensions of 150 × 80 × 31 mm³ was fabricated. Firstly, the dynamics and kinematics of the piezoelectric robot were analyzed to obtain the trajectory of a point at the end of the piezoelectric robot leg. The motion principle of the piezoelectric robot was analyzed, and then the piezoelectric robot’s modal analysis and harmonic response analysis were carried out using finite element analysis software. Finally, an experimental setup was built to verify the effectiveness and high efficiency of the robot’s motion, and the effects of frequency, voltage, load, and height of the driving leg on the robot’s motion performance were discussed. The performance test results show that the piezoelectric robot has a maximum velocity of 66.79 mm/s at an excitation voltage of 320 V and a load capacity of 55 g. In addition, the H-BPR with unequal drive legs has better climbing performance, and the obtained conclusions are informative for selecting leg heights for piezoelectric robots.

Graphical Abstract