Annelid - a Novel Design for Actuated Robots Inspired by Ringed Worm's Locomotion

This paper describes the development of a simulation software that advances the idea of a robotic device inspired by ringed worm’s locomotion. Its basic design is made up of an elongated body that is composed of a spring-style skeleton which is coated by a flexible skin. Our principle approach is to choose a shape memory alloy material for the skeleton, resulting in different spring forces exerted by the body under varying temperatures. The overall approach requires the elastic skin to prestress the whole body in its rest position, so that it can spatially extend when thermal energy is induced to the system, and relax when an inbuilt air cooling mechanism dissipates the heat.