Development of a Venus flytrap-inspired robotic flytrap

Nature provides the best models for robots. Inspired by the stick insect, the jellyfish, the butterfly, the lobster, and the inchworm, several kinds of biomimetic locomotions have been proposed, analyzed and investigated in our past researches. Besides the insects and underwater animals, some carnivorous plants which are capable of rapid movement, such as mimosa, the Venus flytrap, the telegraph plant, sundews and bladderworts, are of great interest for the biomimetic robot design. Carnivorous plants, such as Venus flytrap, can be turned on in a controlled manner to capture prey by using their trigger hairs as detecting sensors. In order to implement a Venus flytrap-inspired robotic flytrap, we designed this biomimetic locomotion by using two ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) actuators. First, we proposed a conceptual structure of the robotic flytrap which consisted of two IPMC lobes and one proximity sensor, and designed the control circuit for the robotic flytrap. Then, we evaluated the deformation and generated bending force of the IPMC actuator by using different applied signal voltages. In addition, we developed a prototype robotic flytrap and utilized a proximity sensor to imitate the trigger hairs of the actual Venus flytrap. The trapping experiment was carried out to verify its feasibility. To evaluate its grasping ability, we measured the maximal grasping payloads with different applied voltages. At last, to reduce the gaps between two IPMC lobes, we improved the robotic flytrap by using three lobes. The experimental results showed a good performance.