Mass-Producible Teleoperated Ambulatory Micro-Bots with Energy Harvesting and Video Reconnaissance Capabilities
In this thesis, several innovations culminate into the making of a micro-robot which might actually prove to be an indispensable military aid in the intelligence dominated modern landscape of warfare. Over the past decade, Micro-roboticists, primarily from the East Coast of the United States, have been applying biomimetic design principles to create biologically-inspired machines capable of walking, jumping, gliding, swimming, and vertical/inverted climbing. Unfortunately, a dramatic change in strategy must be employed to take these robots from the idealic lab to the unforgiving outdoor environment. This thesis addresses the typical fabrication and actuation limitations, focusing on the mechanical design and fabrication of a sub-3cc walking robot, the Cornell Ambulatory Micro-Bot (CAMBot). CAMBot's development involved a tedious parameter selection as well as extensive CAD, FEA, and mock-up modeling for the three degree of freedom leg powertrain which enabled its hexapedal locomotion. Unlike any past attempts in this category, CAMBot was designed for high-throughput mass-production: It requires nearly zero hand-assembly and leverages established microfabrication processes. The control schemes necessary to drive CAMBot's six legs are also presented.