Novel drive mechanism for in-tube micro robots

Abstract

The volume of an in-tube micro robot is small and its interior space is very limited. However, conventional transmission methods are unfit to drive in-tube micro robots. A novel micro drive mechanism called the micro-elastic-meshing-wheel is presented in this paper. It can be used for transmitting power and locomotion between two shafts, which are upright and cross in a micro space. The mechanical model of the novel drive mechanism is built, and the maximal transmission force is deduced. Then, sufficient experiments are carried out to test maximal transmission force produced by the novel drive mechanism. The calculation and experiment results show that the novel drive mechanism can transmit sufficient power to in-tube micro robots.