Kinematic Locomotion Modes of Particle-Based Linear Chain Mechanisms

Researchers often use mechanisms that consist of massless rods and concentrated masses in order to capture the dynamics of robotic locomotors. A kinematic prototyping tool that captures all possible locomotion modes of a given kinematic mechanism can be very useful in conceiving and designing such systems. Previously, we proposed a family of mechanisms that consist of two types of primitive building units: a single mass with a built-in revolute joint and a massless connection rod. This family starts from a single bouncing mass and progressively evolves into more complex generations. In this paper, we present a prototyping tool that generates all possible locomotion cycles of particle-based linear chain mechanisms. A new skip impact concept is introduced to describe the relative motion of the moving masses and the masses on the ground. Also, the paper represents a graphical user interface (GUI) that facilitates data input and the visualization of the locomotion modes.