MSU Tailbot: Controlling Aerial Maneuver of a Miniature-Tailed Jumping Robot

Inspired by the aerial maneuvering ability of lizards, we present the design and control of MSU (Michigan State University) tailbot—a miniature-tailed jumping robot. The robot can not only wheel on the ground, but also jump up to overcome obstacles. Moreover, once leaping into the air, it can control its body angle using an active tail to dynamically maneuver in midair for safe landings. We derive the midair dynamics equation and design controllers, such as a sliding mode controller, to stabilize the body at desired angles. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first miniature (maximum size $7.5$ cm) and lightweight ( $26.5$ g) robot that can wheel on the ground, jump to overcome obstacles, and maneuver in midair. Furthermore, tailbot is equipped with on-board energy, sensing, control, and wireless communication capabilities, enabling tetherless or autonomous operations. The robot in this paper exemplifies the integration of mechanical design, embedded system, and advanced control methods that will inspire the next-generation agile robots mimicking their biological counterparts. Moreover, it can serve as mobile sensor platforms for wireless sensor networks with many field applications.

I. Introduction

Many small animals or insects use jumping to locomote in environments with obstacles [1]. With the jumping ability, they can easily clear obstacles that are much larger than their sizes. For instance, a froghopper can jump up to mm—more than 100 times its size (about mm) [2].