Development of Crab-Inspired Robot with Exoskeletal Structure and Embedded Pneumatic Artificial Pennate Muscles

Pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) are soft actuators that generate tension via contraction when supplied with compressed air. Although PAMs have been widely used in robots mimicking endoskeletal organisms, recent advancements in millimeter-scale thin PAMs have enabled a more precise replication of complex musculoskeletal systems. In contrast, exoskeletal organisms, such as crustaceans and insects actuate their joints using pennate muscles embedded within their exoskeletons. However, integrating actuators into the exoskeletons of exoskeletal-inspired robots is challenging owing to spatial constraints. Consequently, wire and servo-driven mechanisms are predominantly employed, and studies on exoskeletal robots incorporating the muscle-apodeme structures of exoskeletal organisms remain largely unexplored. To address this gap, this paper presents the development of a crab-inspired robotic walking leg featuring an exoskeletal structure with embedded pneumatic artificial pennate muscles, modeled after the muscle-apodeme structures of snow crabs. The experimental evaluations demonstrated that the robot successfully performed joint opening and closing motions, achieving a range of motion comparable to that of a snow crab.