Piezoelectric driven insect-inspired robot with flapping wings capable of skating on the water
A 165 mg coin-size bionic water-skating robot driven by piezoelectric (PZT) bending actuator is presented. The robot with light weight and elastic legs uses surface tension to keep itself on the water surface. The driving force produced by flapping wings enables it to glide easily due to tiny resistance coefficient of water surface. The robot consists of PZT bending actuator, four-bar transmission structure, two flapping wings, four elastic legs and the body. The actuator bending at resonance frequency of 105 Hz achieves 346 μm displacement at the end of actuator at voltage of 280 V so that the flapping angle of the wings reaches 73° at that frequency. Tests show that, the maximum equivalent payload of robot is 830.6 mg, about five times of its own mass, before breaking the water surface, and the water drag when robot skates on the water surface is about 29 μN, 1.76% of its gravity. The maximum forward speed of the robot is measured as 151 mm/s.
