A morphable amphibious bionic robot

Abstract

The application discloses a deformable bionic water-air amphibious bionic robot, which is composed of a bionic body, a deformation mechanism and a driving system. The bionic body combines the streamlined structure of fish and the efficient aerodynamic shape of birds, and the deformation mechanism realizes efficient switching between fish and bird shapes. The driving system cooperates with the rudder and the propeller to realize water swimming propulsion and air flight propulsion respectively. The robot has high flexibility and excellent motion performance, and is suitable for disaster rescue, environmental monitoring, unmanned and anti-unmanned reconnaissance and other fields, and provides an innovative solution for complex environment operation tasks.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of robot technology, and in particular to a variable morphology water-air amphibious robot combining bionics principles, which is suitable for environmental monitoring, disaster rescue and reconnaissance scenes. BACKGROUND

[0002] The application of unmanned systems in air and underwater environments has attracted widespread attention, such as the application of unmanned aerial vehicles in air reconnaissance, monitoring and transportation, and the contribution of underwater robots in ocean exploration and resource development. However, these systems are usually only efficient in a single medium, making it difficult to cope with complex multi-medium environments, such as scenes at the interface of the ocean and the air. In the technical game between unmanned and anti-unmanned, multi-environment task capability has become the key to breakthrough. Water-air amphibious robots integrate flight and swimming capabilities, not only can flexibly cope with the dynamic changes of water-air scenes, but also can overcome the problems of traditional single-medium robots in tracking, avoiding and executing tasks.

[0003] Traditional water-air amphibious vehicles rely entirely on fixed-wing or multi-rotor drive systems, which have poor environmental adaptability, low energy efficiency and insufficient concealment. Designing a bionic amphibious robot combining the fluid dynamics of fish and the aerodynamics of birds can overcome these limitations, achieving efficiency and flexibility in cross-medium task execution. This type of robot has great potential in the fields of environmental monitoring, disaster rescue and anti-unmanned reconnaissance, but current research is very limited. SUMMARY

[0004] The present application is aimed at the shortcomings of existing unmanned systems that can only work efficiently in a single medium environment and are difficult to cope with complex environments, and traditional water-air amphibious vehicles lack environmental adaptability and concealment. A variable morphology water-air amphibious bionic robot is designed, which has the ability to adapt to complex task requirements through lightweight and deformable structure, and has the characteristics of strong motion ability, high flexibility, fast deformation speed and strong concealment.

[0005] The purpose of the present application is achieved by the following technical scheme: a variable morphology water-air amphibious bionic robot, the bionic robot comprising:

[0006] A body shape conversion mechanism, comprising a main skeleton, a deformation steering wheel driven gear transmission mechanism, a hinged heptagonal shell frame, and a carbon rod and a carbon tube connected to each other; the heptagonal shell frame is connected to the main skeleton through the carbon rod and the carbon tube, and the heptagonal shell frame is connected to the gear transmission mechanism, and the attitude is adjusted to be spindle-shaped in water and flat in air;

[0007] A folding wing mechanism, controlled by a folding wing steering wheel to unfold or fold the side wings; a vector steering wheel and a propeller are installed at the end of the side wing to provide lift during flight;

[0008] The tail fin switching mechanism switches the tail fin between vertical and horizontal states by a tail rudder machine, and controls the swing movement of the tail fin by a swing rudder machine.

[0009] Further, the left and right sides and the lower side of the main skeleton are connected to the heptagonal shell frame through the carbon rods and carbon tubes connected to each other by sliding.

[0010] Further, the gear transmission mechanism is installed on the main skeleton, and the gear and connecting rod are connected to the two sides of the heptagonal shell frame, and the gear, connecting rod, and carbon rods and carbon tubes connected to the two sides of the heptagonal shell frame together constitute a central symmetrical crank slider mechanism.

[0011] Further, the tail fin is in a vertical state in water, and left and right swing realizes forward movement and turning, and in the air, it is in a horizontal state, and up and down swing is used to assist in adjusting the pitch angle.

[0012] Further, the folding wing mechanism includes a folding wing frame, a vector rudder machine is installed at the end of the folding wing frame, and a propeller is connected through a brushless motor, and the vector rudder machine is used to change the thrust direction of the brushless motor.

[0013] Further, the side wing of the folding wing mechanism is folded as a ventral fin in the fish shape, and is unfolded as a wing in the bird shape.

[0014] Further, the bionic robot body is assembled by 3D printed PLA parts, and the surface is covered with a flexible silicone skin.

[0015] Further, the robot includes a control module composed of sensors, processors and actuators; the sensor is responsible for acquiring the current state data of the robot, including the attitude and acceleration information; the processor is responsible for processing and analyzing the sensor data or control signal, and generating the corresponding control instruction; the actuator adjusts the speed of the brushless motor and the angle of the rudder according to the instruction generated by the processor, and realizes attitude control.

[0016] Further, the robot includes a communication module composed of a receiver and a controller; the receiver is placed inside the robot, receives signals from the controller, and transmits them to the control module; the controller is outside the robot, controlled by the operator, and transmits instructions to the receiver through radio signals.

[0017] Further, the robot includes a power module composed of a rechargeable lithium battery, a power distribution board and an electronic speed regulator; the lithium battery is connected to the power distribution board to supply power to the control module and the electronic speed regulator, and the electronic speed regulator supplies power to the brushless motor.

[0018] The beneficial effects of this invention: This invention designs a variable-form amphibious biomimetic robot with the ability to operate across water and air media, and has advantages such as stealth, mobility, strong adaptability, high operating efficiency, and high scalability. It has broad application prospects and development potential in unmanned reconnaissance and combat in water and air environments, as well as in environmental monitoring and disaster relief. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall external structure of the present invention in the form of a fish.

[0020] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall external structure of the present invention in bird form.

[0021] Figure 3 This is an exploded view of the overall structure of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the body shape transformation mechanism of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the tail fin switching mechanism of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the folding wing mechanism of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0025] To further illustrate the technical means and effects adopted by the present invention to achieve the intended purpose, the specific embodiments, structures, features and principles of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, this invention provides a variable-form amphibious biomimetic robot that achieves efficient movement and form switching in both water and air by integrating biomimetic design, morphing mechanisms, and a drive system. The biomimetic body combines the streamlined structure of fish with the efficient aerodynamic shape of birds, and achieves fish-bird form switching through multiple morphing mechanisms. The drive system provides corresponding propulsion according to the form. The morphing mechanisms include a body form transformation mechanism, a folding wing mechanism, and a tail fin adjustment mechanism. These mechanisms are controlled by servos to achieve form transformation and motion control of the biomimetic body. In fish form, it is spindle-shaped, with folded side wings serving as ventral fins and a vertically distributed tail fin; in bird form, it is flattened, with unfolded side wings serving as wings and a horizontal tail fin. The drive system includes an underwater propulsion module and an aerial flight module; underwater, the robot mainly relies on servos to drive the tail fin, while in the air, it uses rotor propulsion. The hardware modules of the drive system are placed inside the robot's torso and fixed around the main skeleton. The drive system achieves switching and movement between the two forms through 2.4GHz wireless control and autonomous flight control.

[0027] As Figure 3 shown, the variable morphology amphibious bionic robot's body is mainly composed of 3D printing PLA parts, the surface is covered with flexible silicone skin. Contains three morphing mechanism, control module 29, communication module 30 and power module 31 are fixed in the main body.

[0028] As Figure 4 shown, the body shape conversion mechanism 26, by the main skeleton 1, gear transmission mechanism 2, and heptagon shell frame 3. The main skeleton is used for positioning and fixing each part, the main skeleton remains unchanged when the body deforms, the heptagon shell frame is connected by hinge to realize movement. The elastic check ring 4 fixes the gear on the gear base, the M5 cylindrical pin 5 is used as the gear rotating shaft, the first gear 6 is driven by the deformation rudder 9, the second gear 7 and the third gear 8 are inserted into the M5 cylindrical pin 5 as the gear rotating shaft, the third gear 8 is connected with the connecting rod 11, the connecting rod 11 is connected with the heptagon shell frame 3 through the M2 cylindrical pin 10, the first carbon rod 13 is fixed on the main skeleton, the first carbon tube 12 is fixed on both sides of the heptagon shell frame 3 and can slide freely on the first carbon rod 13, the third gear 8, the connecting rod 11, the carbon tube 12 and the carbon rod 13 constitute a concentric symmetrical crank slider mechanism; the second carbon tube 14 is fixed on the main skeleton, the second carbon rod 15 is fixed on the lower side of the heptagon shell frame 3, which is used for limiting the degree of freedom. The overall mechanism has 1 degree of freedom, and has 1 driving part, the number of driving parts of the mechanism is equal to the number of degrees of freedom, which has a certain motion.

[0029] As Figure 5 shown, the tail fin switching mechanism 28 contains the variable tail rudder 16, which is responsible for controlling the rotary motion of the tail fin 17 and can switch between vertical and horizontal states; and the swing tail rudder 18 is responsible for controlling the swing motion of the tail fin 17, which performs left and right or up and down swing actions in different states. During the tail fin switching process, the robot skin needs to be fixed with the tail fin. In order to keep the robot skin in a stationary state, a bearing 19 is installed at the tail fin. The bearing sleeve is connected with the robot skin, and the bearing is fixed on the printed part.

[0030] As Figure 6 shown, the folding wing mechanism 27, by folding wing rudder 20, rudder support 21, folding wing frame 22, vector rudder 23, brushless motor 24 and propeller 25. The rudder support 21 is fixed on the first carbon tube 12, the folding wing rudder 20 is fixed on the rudder support 21 through the rudder disc, which controls the unfolding or folding of the side wing. The vector rudder 23 is located at the end of the folding wing frame 22, which is used to change the thrust direction of the brushless motor 24. The brushless motor 24 and the propeller 25 provide the lift during flight.

[0031] The variable morphology amphibious bionic robot provided by the application presents a fish shape when in water, and the body is spindle-shaped. At this time, the flight power module is in a stopped state, the fins on both sides of the body are leaned against the body, and the single fin can move alone to assist in adjusting the motion posture of the robot. Since the brushless motor on the fin has a certain weight, the front and back movement of the gravity center can be realized when the fin moves, resulting in the change of the pitch angle to realize the sinking and floating of the robot. The tail fin of the robot is in a vertical state and can swing left and right to realize various movements in water, including forward movement and turning. When the robot switches between water and air, the tail fin of the robot is changed from the vertical state to the horizontal state, at this time, the tail fin can swing up and down to assist in adjusting the pitch angle of the robot. At the same time, the body is converted from the spindle shape to the flat shape, the wings on both sides of the body are unfolded, and the flight power module starts to work, at this time, the robot mainly presents a bird shape. When the rotor generates a large enough lift, the robot can fly out of the water to realize the switching between water and air. When in the air, since the rotors on both sides have corresponding vector rudders to adjust the lift angle, the forward movement, backward movement, turning, lifting and other movements can be completed. When the robot wants to enter the water again, first, the lift is slowly reduced to make the robot land smoothly on the water surface, then the body is converted from the flat shape to the spindle shape, the wings on both sides of the body are close to the body, the tail fin is changed from the horizontal state to the vertical state, the flight power module stops working, and the conversion of the robot from the bird shape to the fish shape is completed.

[0032] The driving system of the variable morphology amphibious bionic robot provided by the application comprises a control module 29, a power module, a communication module 30 and a power module 31, and the control module 29 is composed of a sensor, a processor and an actuator. The sensor is mainly responsible for acquiring the data of the current state of the robot, including the posture, acceleration and other information; the processor is responsible for processing and analyzing the sensor data or control signals to generate corresponding control instructions; and the actuator adjusts the brushless motor speed, rudder angle and the like of the robot according to the instructions generated by the processor to realize posture control. The power module is mainly composed of a rudder, a brushless motor and a rotor and the like, and provides power when swimming and flying. The communication module 30 comprises a receiver and a controller. The receiver is placed inside the robot, receives signals from the controller and transmits them to the control module; and the controller is outside the robot and is controlled by an operator to transmit instructions to the receiver through radio signals. The power module 31 comprises a rechargeable lithium battery, a distribution board and an electronic speed regulator, wherein the lithium battery is connected to the control module and the electronic speed regulator through the distribution board to supply power; the electronic speed regulator supplies power to the brushless motor, and a built-in batteryless circuit (BEC) is additionally provided to convert high voltage into 5 V-6 V voltage for use of electronic devices such as the rudder.

[0033] In summary, the application designs a deformable water-air amphibious bionic robot, which has the advantages of cross water-air medium operation ability, high concealment and maneuverability, strong adaptability, high operation efficiency, high expansibility and the like, and has wide application prospect and development potential in the fields of water-air environment unmanned reconnaissance combat, environment monitoring, disaster rescue and the like.

[0034] The above examples are used to explain and illustrate the application, but not to limit the application, and any modification and change made to the application within the spirit and protection scope of the claims falls into the protection scope of the application.

Claims

1. A morphable amphibious biomimetic robot for water and land, characterized in that: The bionic robot comprises: The body shape conversion mechanism comprises a main skeleton, a deformation steering wheel driven gear transmission mechanism, a hinged heptagonal shell frame and a carbon rod and a carbon tube connected to each other in sliding mode; the left and right sides and the lower side of the main skeleton are connected to the heptagonal shell frame through the carbon rod and the carbon tube connected to each other in sliding mode; the heptagonal shell frame is connected to the gear transmission mechanism, the gear transmission mechanism is installed on the main skeleton, the gear and the connecting rod are connected to the two sides of the heptagonal shell frame, and the gear, the connecting rod and the carbon rod and the carbon tube connected to the two sides of the heptagonal shell frame jointly constitute a centrosymmetrical crank slider mechanism, the posture is adjusted so that the bionic robot is in a spindle shape in water and in a flat shape in air; The folding wing mechanism controls the unfolding or folding of the side wing through a folding wing steering wheel; a vector steering wheel and a propeller are installed at the end of the side wing to provide lift during flight; The tail fin switching mechanism controls the switching of the tail fin between the vertical and horizontal states through a variable tail steering wheel, and controls the swing movement of the tail fin through a swing tail steering wheel.

2. The morphable water-air amphibious bionic robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: When in water, the tail fin is in a vertical state, and left-right swing realizes forward movement and turning, and when in air, the tail fin is in a horizontal state, and up-down swing assists in adjusting the pitch angle.

3. The morphable water-air amphibious biomimetic robot of claim 1, wherein: The folding wing mechanism comprises a folding wing frame, the vector steering wheel is installed at the end of the folding wing frame and connected to the propeller through a brushless motor, and the vector steering wheel is used to change the thrust direction of the brushless motor.

4. The morphable water-air amphibious biomimetic robot of claim 1, wherein: The side wing of the folding wing mechanism is folded as a ventral fin in the fish shape and unfolded as a wing in the bird shape.

5. The morphable water-air amphibious biomimetic robot of claim 1, wherein: The bionic robot body is assembled by 3D printed PLA parts, and the surface is covered with a flexible silicone skin.

6. The morphable water-air amphibious bionic robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: The robot comprises a control module composed of a sensor, a processor and an actuator; the sensor is responsible for acquiring data of the current state of the robot, including the posture and acceleration information; the processor is responsible for processing and analyzing the sensor data or control signals to generate corresponding control instructions; the actuator adjusts the brushless motor speed and the steering wheel angle of the robot according to the instructions generated by the processor to realize posture control.

7. The morphable water-air amphibious bionic robot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The robot comprises a communication module composed of a receiver and a controller; the receiver is placed inside the robot, receives signals from the controller and transmits them to the control module; the controller is outside the robot and is controlled by an operator, and transmits instructions to the receiver through radio signals.

8. The morphable water-air amphibious biomimetic robot of claim 6, wherein: The robot comprises a power module composed of a rechargeable lithium battery, a power distribution board and an electronic speed regulator; the lithium battery is connected to the power distribution board to supply power to the control module and the electronic speed regulator, and the electronic speed regulator supplies power to the brushless motor.

Images