Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6884-1270

Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Committee Chair

Nicholas Szczecinski

Committee Member

Mario Perhinschi

Committee Member

Sergiy Yakovenko

Abstract

Robots provide a unique proving ground for testing scientists’ understanding of neuromuscular systems. Synergistically, mimicking biological control laws and mechanics could offer robotics the robust and adaptive locomotion of animals. Previous work has utilized the wealth of research on insect biomechanics to develop scaled robotic models but doing so presented a problem: while these robots’ larger scale has simplified manufacturing, the scale has also shifted its mechanics from those of the modeled organisms. While animals walk, forces are generated that describe their mechanics and influence motor control. The musculoskeletal structure and stretch of muscles result in viscous and elastic forces, while the raising and motion of limbs result in gravitational and inertial forces. These forces are dependent on the scale and speed of an animal. Larger, faster animals experience greater inertial forces due to their mass. At smaller scales viscoelastic forces dominate. How these forces balance determines the phase between active muscle force and displacement of limbs which has descending repercussions on control. This phase represents an animal’s dynamic scale. To make more accurate biomechanical models and grant legged robots’ animal- like mechanics, I developed a Parallel Viscoelastic Actuator (PVA) using 3D printed torsional springs. The PVA successfully reduced the phase between motor actuation and limb displacement. Through the introduction of a PVA, a robotic limb resembling an inertially dominated animal was able to operate at the same speed with the dynamic scale of an insect. Furthermore, this introduction im- proved responses to perturbations and enabled faster motions to be produced using less active force. PVAs will enable robotic models of insects to be built on a scale of convenience while maintaining the dynamic scale of their biomechanical model. A robot fully equipped with PVAs may offer unprecedented biomechanical accuracy and the ability to integrate biological control strategies, furthering understanding in biol- ogy and performance in robotics.

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