A research team led by Professor Yingxiang Liu at the Harbin Institute of Technology's (HIT) School of Mechatronics Engineering has developed a new reconfigurable centimeter-scale piezo robot. The study, titled Centimeter-scale Reconfiguration Piezo Robots with Built-in-Ceramic Actuation Unit, was published in Engineering, a journal of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
The work provides an effective solution for achieving miniaturization, high load capacity, rapid motion, and modular reconfigurability in centimeter-scale robots.
Inspired by the mantis' "impact-jump" motion, the team designed a quadruped robot measuring just 44×10×12.5 mm³ and weighing 6.5 g. Using an innovative 45° oblique orthogonal arrangement of piezoelectric ceramics, the robot can move forward and backward with a single excitation signal, reaching speeds of 90.3 body lengths per second (over 900 mm/s) and carrying loads up to 31.6 times its weight (over 200 g).
Further integration of control, communication, and power units enabled high-density modular packaging (50×15×27 mm³, 21.22 g). Using multi-point connection methods, the team created nine series with more than 25 robot configurations. A configuration prediction method based on module number and connection weights allows trend prediction for any robot configuration, streamlining optimal design selection.
Experimental results show that the reconfigurable robots can navigate complex terrains, including wide slots, narrow gaps, mazes, and uneven surfaces, while performing extended functions such as wireless image collection, demonstrating excellent environmental adaptability and modular scalability.
HIT is the sole affiliation and corresponding institution. PhD student Yu Gao and Associate Researchers Jing Li and Shijing Zhang are co-first authors. Professors Yingxiang Liu and Jie Deng are co-corresponding authors, with Professor Weishan Chen as a co-author. The project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Heilongjiang Postdoctoral Science Foundation, and the National Funded Postdoctoral Program.
Reconfiguration strategies, configuration planning, and demonstration experiments of centimeter-scale reconfigurable piezoelectric robots. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]