Omnidirectional motion of an untethered tripodal microrobot using radial piezoelectric actuators (opens in new tab)

Miniature robots require minimal operational space for confined environments. Here, we propose an untethered tripodal piezoelectric robot to achieve omnidirectional locomotion and narrowing its required turning space exactly to its compact size (Φ3.10 × 2.75 cm3, 12.2 g). Three radial piezoelectric actuators synthesize six circumferential driving forces, while a trajectory interpolation algorithm enables omnidirectional locomotion without attitude turning. By switching between high-frequency ...