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Salamandra robotica II

Details

Salamandra robotica II is an amphibious robot inspired by the salamander's anatomy and nervous system. It's used to study robot locomotion and test neurobiological models in real environments.

Creator
Biorobotics Laboratory at EPFL
Country
Switzerland 🇨🇭
Year
2012
Type
Research
Creator
Biorobotics Laboratory at EPFL
Country
Switzerland 🇨🇭
Year
2012
Type
Research

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Did You Know?

The robot will keep moving even if you cut it into two or more parts.
Internal water sensors alert the robot if any leakage occurs during swimming.
The top and bottom covers of the body's segments use magnets rather than screws to attach to each other.
That's because each segment has a microcontroller that computes the spinal cord model in a distributed way.

Specs

FEATURES
Control system uses a mathematical model of the salamander's spinal cord. Able to move on land or in water and transition between environments.
HEIGHT
N/A cm | in
LENGTH
110 cm | 43 in
WIDTH
N/A cm | in
WEIGHT
2.5 kg | 5.5 lb
SPEED
1.9 km/h | 1.2 mph (walking or swimming)

SENSORS
Rotary encoders for motors. Head with infrared sensor.
ACTUATORS
12 2.83-watt Faulhaber DC motors with custom plastic gearbox.
POWER
Seven 600-mAh and two 1200-mAh lithium-ion batteries.
COMPUTING
ARM-based LPC2129 32-bit 60-MHz main microcontroller; 868 MHz bidirectional radio link for control; eight PIC18F2580 microcontrollers for low-level functions; 12 PIC16F876A as controllers for the motors.
SOFTWARE
Custom software written in C.
DEGREES OF FREEDOM (DOF)
12 (Body: 8 DoF; Limbs: 4 DoF)
MATERIALS
Polyurethane resin
COST
N/A
STATUS
Ongoing
WEBSITE
http://biorob.epfl.ch/salamandra

History

The first incarnation of the Salamandra robotica, created at EPFL Biorobotics Laboratory, was a proof-of-concept design built with some modules from another robot called AmphiBot, in addition to some rudimentary leg modules. After that, the robot received major upgrades, and the EPFL team used the new design, the Salamandra robotica I, in several experiments. In 2013, the researchers unveiled Salamandra robotica II, which has more degrees of freedom (leg modules are not rigidly fixed to the body) and can walk and swim faster and more nimbly.