Analysis and experimental research on the coupled motion of the foot and paddle of crab-like robot based on biological observation

作者：Shihao Hu, Mingfei Xin, Siqi Li, Jiawei Li, Gang Wang, Shuo Zhang, Xi Chen · 发表于：Applied Ocean Research · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.apor.2025.104524 · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：Robotic Locomotion and Control、Biomimetic flight and propulsion mechanisms、Soft Robotics and Applications

Shallow water regions, characterized by complex and varied terrain as well as dense aquatic vegetation, pose challenges for traditional propeller-based propulsion systems, which can damage seabed substrates and become entangled with aquatic plants. Amphibious bionic robots, with their remarkable environmental adaptability, have emerged as a research focus for operations in shoal environments. Drawing inspiration from the walking behavior of Portunus trituberculatus (Portunus), this paper presents a walking method for a crab-like robot that incorporates a coupled foot-paddle motion. Using the direct linear transformation (DLT) algorithm, we have captured the motion trajectories of the swimming paddles (in both heart-shaped and figure-eight patterns) during the underwater locomotion of Portunus. A hydrodynamic simulation environment was established, and the robot model was simplified. Based on the simulation results, we analyzed the influence of coupled foot-paddle motion on the robot’s force distribution from three perspectives: pressure distribution maps of the swimming paddles, force curves, and vortex diagrams. Experimental validation confirmed the effectiveness of the coupled foot-paddle motion strategy in enhancing underwater walking speed, with the figure-eight flapping mode achieving an average speed increase of 11.5% and the heart-shaped flapping mode achieving an average speed increase of 9.8%. Furthermore, in terms of stability, the coupled foot-paddle motion with he...