Speaker
Prof.
Pooneh Maghoul
(École Polytechnique)
Description
Due to payload limitations in space missions, light and compact investigation tools
should be developed for subsurface exploration on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. In this talk, I will present our Bio-Inspired Vibro-Based Burrowing Probe (BVBP) prototype, which is designed to mimic the ‘squirming’ locomotion of snakes in granular soils (e.g. sand beach) for space mining. Our innovative robotic employs a lateral vibration mechanism by using piezoelectric driving units. The vibration motion can cause loss between contact parts, such as a probe in the soil, and hence can reduce the friction between the probe and soil and make the penetration easier.
