Development Of Measuring System For Gecko's Kinematic Force And Analysis Of Force Principle

Gecko's kinematic force measuring system is used to measure the reaction force between Gecko's feet and the surface when it is crawling on all kinds of surface. And write down images of Gecko's movement at the same time. The system is consisted by 3-dimensional sensor array, signal conditioning system, images requiring system and measuring software.The 3-dimensional sensor array is the key of this system. It includes 16 individual 3-dimensional force sensors. It is a 2×8 array with two columns and eight rows,the length is about 240 mm, the width can be adjusted according to different Gecko. Some orientation trough and clamp holes were designed. It can be used to control the assembling tolerance. NI's SCXI signal conditioning modules are used in this system,the measuring software developed in LabVIEW can implement different function.With images information, lots of Gecko's kinematic force data were analyzed. In a movement cycle, the function of each leg is different when Gecko moving on level,vertical and floor surfaces. And the movement of center of mass was introduced also when it climbing on different surfaces.A new parallel sensor is assembled by two 2-dimensional force sensors. With different structure and key size changed, the effect of the 2-dimensional force sensor performance was analyzed. This kind of parallel structure not only avoid the error of force loading place, but also useful to the stiffness of sensor.By measuring the different target surface reaction force, Gecko's adhesion mechanism and locomotion were analyzed. It can help to understand the kinematics and neurology of animal's locomotion. It sheds light on the study of animal's locomotion and the design of bio-inspired robot.