Development Of Measuring System For Insects' 3-dimensional Contact Force Between Feet And Surface

Insect's 3-dimensional feet force measuring system is used to measure the contact force between insect's feet and the surface when it is crawling on all kinds of surface. This system consists of 3-dimensional micro force sensor array, signal conditioning system and measuring software.The structure and the principle of a 3-dimensional micro force sensor is introduced. This sensor is used to measure the 3-dimensional contact force of insects'feet on target surface. The feasibility is proved by structure and modal analysis in Ansys. The result of measurement revealed this sensor is suitable for insect experiment. It is used to measure 3-dimensional contact force generated by individual leg of the stinkbug Eerthesina fullo when moving on the level and vertical surfaces. Eerthesina fullo's adhensive force was measured when walking upright and climbing vertically. The legs of insect generates adhesive force to avoid overturning when climbing vertically. The sensor array is made up of 16 3-dimensional micro force sensors. It is a 4×4 array. The sensors lines up in a circle. The measuring area is 16㎜×16㎜ in the centre. The position adjustment is designed to keep the sensor's position correct.NI's SCXI signal conditioning modules is used in this system., and the measuring software is developed in LabVIEW. By measuring the target surface-foot reaction forces generated by insects on various surfaces, we can understand adhesion mechanism and locomotion. The study sheds light on the study of animal's locomotion and the design of bio-inspired robot with six legs.