Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A novel design of an aquatic walking robot having webbed feet

  • Research Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Automation and Computing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Inspired by the movement of duck that is able to move on land and water utilizing its webbed feet, a novel design of an amphibious robot has been presented in this paper. In contrary, the orthodox design of amphibious robot utilizes the tracks or wheels on land and switches to the propeller to move in water. The proposed design employs same propulsion system as webbed feet to move on land and water. After studying the movement of the duck underwater, a conclusion has been drawn that it is swimming in the water by moving its webbed feet back and forth to generate force to push its body forward. Recreating this phenomenon of duck movement, hybrid robot locomotion has been designed and developed which is able to walk, swim and climb steps using the same propulsion system. Moreover, webbed feet would be able to walk efficiently on muddy, icy or sandy terrain due to uneven distribution of robot weight on the feet. To be able to justify the feasibility of the design, simulations are being carried out using SimulationXpress of the SOLIDWORKS software.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. S. Böttcher. Principles of robot locomotion. In Proceedings of ACM Conference on Human-robot Interaction, HRI, Salt Lakecity, USA, pp. 1–23, 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  2. M. F. Silva, J. T. Machado. A literature review on the optimization of legged robots. Journal of Vibration and Control, vol. 18, no. 12, pp. 1753–1767, 2012.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  3. Y. Dai, Z. Q. Zheng, J. L. Chen, Z. Y. Chang. Design of a new propulsion mechanism of imitating duck’s webbed-feet. Telkomnika, vol. 11, no. 8, pp. 4735–4741, 2013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. M. West. Dudley the duck is getting a 3D printed foot. 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  5. N. G. Lokhande, V. B. Emche. Mechanical spider by using Klann mechanism. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Applications, vol. 1, no. 5, pp. 13–16, 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  6. R. Richardson, S. Whitehead, TC. Ng, Z. Hawass, A. Pickering, S. Rhodes, R. Grieve, A. Hildred, A. Nagendran, J. Liu, W. Mayfield, M. Tayoubi, R. Breitner. The “Djedi” robot exploration of the southern shaft of the Queen’s chamber in the great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt. Journal of Field Robotics, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 323–348, 2013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. R. D. Quinn, A. Boxerbaum, L. Palmer, H. Chiel, E. Diller, A. Hunt, R. Bachmann. Novel locomotion via biological inspiration. In Proceedings of Unmanned Systems Technology XIII, SPIE, Orlando, USA, vol. 8045, pp. 804511, 2011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. A. J. Hunt, R. J. Bachmann, R. R. Murphy, R. D. Quinn. A rapidly reconfigurable robot for assistance in urban search and rescue. In Proceedings of IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IEEE, San Francisco, USA, pp. 209–214, 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Y. Takahashi, M. Shibata. Experimental study on climbing up and down the step for a biped robot. In Proceedings of the 13th IEEE International Workshop on Advanced Motion Control, IEEE, Yokohama, Japan, pp. 338–343, 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  10. B. Chen, P. Wang, Y. J. Li, S. Chen, Y. Y. Kou. Design of a new bionic swimming robot for vascular unclogging. Applied Mechanics and Materials, vol. 461, pp. 886–893, 2014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. H. J. Kim, S. H. Song, S. H. Ahn. A turtle-like swimming robot using a smart soft composite (SSC) structure. Smart Materials and Structures, vol. 22, no. 1, Article number 014007, 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  12. R. Sakai, M Shimizu, H Aonuma, K Hosoda. Swimming locomotion of Xenopus laevis robot. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer, Milan, Italy, vol. 8608, pp. 420–422, 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  13. M. Calisti, F. Corucci, A. Arienti, C. Laschi. Dynamics of underwater legged locomotion: Modeling and experiments on an octopus-inspired robot. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, vol. 10, no. 4, Article mumber 046012, 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  14. M. X. Li, S. X. Guo, H. Hirat, H. Ishihara. Design and performance evaluation of an amphibious spherical robot. Robotics and Autonomous Systems, vol. 64, pp. 21–34, 2015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. S. W. Zhang, X Liang, L. C. Xu, M. Xu. Initial development of a novel amphibious robot with transformable fin-leg composite propulsion mechanisms. Journal of Bionic Engineering, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 434–445, 2013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Arduino. Arduino UNO & Genuino UNO, [Online], Available: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoard- Uno, April 24, 2015.

  17. HS-646WP High Voltage, High Torque, Analog Waterproof Servo, [Online], Available: http://hitecrcd.com/products/servos/waterproofservos-2/hs-646wp-high-voltage-hightorqueanalog-waterproof-servo/product, April 24, 2015.

  18. B. Ebrahimi, M. B. Khamesee, F. Golnaraghi. A novel eddy current damper: Theory and experiment. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, vol. 42, no. 7, Article number 075001, 2009.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak Campus, Jalan Simpang Tiga, 93350, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

    Saad Kashem & Hutomo Sufyan

Authors
  1. Saad Kashem
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hutomo Sufyan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Saad Kashem.

Additional information

Recommended by Associate Editor Xun Xu

Saad Kashem received the B. Sc. degree in electrical and electronic engineering from East West University, Bangladesh in 2009, and received the Ph.D. degree from Swinburne University of Technology (SUT), Australia in 2013. At present, he is with Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Science in Swinburne University of Technology Sarawakak, Malaysia. He has over six years experience in both industry and academia. He is a professional member of Institution of Engineering and Technology, UK (IET), Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, and International Association of Engineers (IAENG). He is editor & reviewer of many national & international reputed Journals & Conferences. He is with Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Science in Swinburne University of Technology, Malaysia.

His research interests include vehicle dynamic, electric vehicle, renewable energy systems, intelligent and autonomous control, robotics, nonlinear control theory and applications.

Hutomo Sufyan is a student of Bachelor of Engineering (B. Eng.) in the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Science in Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak, Malaysia. He is a member of Robotics and Automation Club Indonesian Student Community.

His research interests include mechatronics, robotics and automation engineering.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kashem, S., Sufyan, H. A novel design of an aquatic walking robot having webbed feet. Int. J. Autom. Comput. 14, 576–588 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11633-017-1075-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11633-017-1075-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation