A Study on the Effect of Belly-Dragging Locomotion on a Robot that Mimics a Heavy Reptile

This study investigates the effect of tortoise-inspired locomotion on enhancing energy efficiency in legged robots. Tortoises, known for their high locomotion efficiency, provide a unique model for robot and gait design, where their specific gait and posture significantly contribute to energy efficiency. This study hypothesizes that the gait and belly-dragging posture of tortoises can improve the energy efficiency of robots. To test this hypothesis, a quadruped robot mimicking these tortoise characteristics is developed, utilizing the cost of transport (CoT) as a measure of energy efficiency. Dynamic simulations and real-world experiments are conducted, varying parameters like robot size, mass, friction coefficient, and Froude number, to validate the generality of the findings. The results indicate that both belly dragging, a postural characteristic of tortoises, and their diagonal gait significantly lower the robot's CoT. This suggests that the energy-efficient locomotion of tortoises, specifically the diagonal gait with belly dragging, is transferable to robotic platforms to enhance energy efficiency. The tortoise-inspired robot design offers significant potential in applications such as search and rescue operations, space exploration, and payload transportation. Furthermore, the tortoise-inspired locomotion strategy can be effectively integrated with other research focusing on energy efficiency improvements through mechanical structures or control strategies.