Bionic Mechanism and Kinematics Analysis of Hopping Robot Inspired by Locust Jumping

A flexible-rigid hopping mechanism which is inspired by the locust jumping was proposed, and its kinematic characteristics were analyzed. A series of experiments were conducted to observe locust morphology and jumping process. According to classic mechanics, the jumping process analysis was conducted to build the relationship of the locust jumping parameters. The take-off phase was divided into four stages in detail. Based on the biological observation and kinematics analysis, a mechanical model was proposed to simulate locust jumping. The forces of the flexible-rigid hopping mechanism at each stage were analyzed. The kinematic analysis using pseudo-rigid-body model was described by D-H method. It is confirmed that the proposed bionic mechanism has the similar performance as the locust hind leg in hopping. Moreover, the jumping angle which decides the jumping process was discussed, and its relation with other parameters was established. A calculation case analysis corroborated the method. The results of this paper show that the proposed bionic mechanism which is inspired by the locust hind limb has an excellent kinematics performance, which can provide a foundation for design and motion planning of the hopping robot.