MIE.03 – Cooperative movement inspired by Sawfly Larvae
Team Members Heading link
- Joe Downie
- Kyle Kendra
- Eric Najera
- Yuki Nojima
Project Description Heading link
Progress requires technological innovation, which itself requires inspiration. This project is inspired by the sawfly larvae. When they travel in groups the overall movement speed is faster than that of the slowest moving larvae. The goal of this project was to mimic the way that the sawfly larvae crawl over each other like a conveyor belt and amplify the speed. To do this, three robots climb over one another and prove that the independent speed is slower than the unit speed. The end goal being to prove that there is an amplification of speed. Research and 3D modeling were the main strategies taken to pursue this project. The robots work with one another using sensors and computer programming. Multiple iterations of a tracked robot were designed. The improvements included better tolerances, build quality, and track tensioning. The final system includes three robots with tunable speeds, sensors to communicate. By measuring the time it took for one robot to travel a set distance vs the group of robots to travel the same distance; it has been confirmed that there is a speed amplification by leapfrogging robots.