Octa-Pedal Bot using the Klann Mechanism

Published on 15 Apr 2022. Written by Bheru Singh

About the project

Ever wondered the reason behind the design of human leg palm? Ever wondered why leg palm not circular like the wheels we have in our cars or like cube block? Well, the profile of human sole has a tremendous amount of importance when it comes the application is to step over different terrains and surfaces. It is very important to gain the grip on different terrain, this is where wheels are ineffective.

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Coming to artificial humans i.e. robots, generally, it is designed to work at different conditions are built with a wheel because wheels are simple to adopt and wheels require a simple mechanism to be driven. But as we learned about the disadvantages of having a wheel on a machine which is designed to replace human effort, it is important to find an alternative form of surface gripping mechanism.

One type of walking mechanism which can be adapted is leg mechanism. For a better stability of the robot, we can use multiple legs like a spider, then the same robot can be named as spider robot. Spider robot can step over curbs, climb stairs, and other surfaces which are not possible with a robot with wheels.

There are different ways of operating the robot like by using mechanical linkages and motors or by means electronics and switches or by using complex microcontrollers and software along with electronics. One mechanism which is simplest eliminating the microcontroller control or large actuators control is Klann Mechanism. Klann Mechanism is a physical copy of the legged animal structure.

In Klann Mechanism, links are connected by pivot joints. It converts the rotary motion of the crank into movement of the spider legs which gives us walking impression similar to a spider which is technically called as an octapedal movement. There are DPDT switches used which operate the motor likewise and the motor rotates the crank giving the movement to the linkages, therefore, giving a movement to the bot.

There are different components used in building the spider robot like frames and linkages, motors, gears, Klann linkage, electronics like control system with an antenna to receive signal and a remote to send signals, batteries.

It has a wide range of application. It can be used to monitor a toxic environment, reconnaissance mission, mine explosive areas etc.

Kit required to develop Octa-Pedal Bot using the Klann Mechanism:

• Spider Frame
• Motor
• Linkages
• Drives

Technologies you will learn by working on Octa-Pedal Bot using the Klann Mechanism:

• Kinematics
• Electronic

Any Questions?