Design and Fabrication of an Earthworm Robot for locomotion in a medium sized pipe
Earthworm is a tube-shaped, segmented organism. It is limbless, due to which it can access spaces where other bodies are hard to reach. Its body is divided into segments. Each segment has a number of small bristles. Earthworms move forward by repeated contractions and expansions
2025-06-28 16:31:32 - Adil Khan
Design and Fabrication of an Earthworm Robot for locomotion in a medium sized pipe
Project Area of Specialization RoboticsProject SummaryEarthworm is a tube-shaped, segmented organism. It is limbless, due to which it can access spaces where other bodies are hard to reach. Its body is divided into segments. Each segment has a number of small bristles. Earthworms move forward by repeated contractions and expansions of their segments and grip with soil through bristles.
In this project, we will develop and built a robot to imitate earthworm motion. The robot is made up of similar modules connected through prismatic joint. Each module contains a pair of scissor jack mechanism used to provide the contact between the module and the pipe and a DC geared motor for joint actuation, which is controlled by a controller located in the head of module.
Such earthworm robots have the potential to make substantial contributions in various application areas such as chemical pipelines, oil pipelines, gas pipelines and water pipelines where it is difficult and dangerous for a human being to operate.
Project ObjectivesThe major objectives of the project are:
- To design and model joint mechanism and contact mechanism
- Components selection
- Design and selection of electronics
- To fabricate and assemble the robot
- Interfcing and programming
- To test for desired locomotion
- Literature review for conceptual design
- Conceptual Design
- PRO-E model of mechanical structure
- Component selection on the basis of literature review
- Manufacturing and assembly
- Control of system / Programming /curcuit diagram in Proteus
- Interfacing and Programming
- Test for desired locomotion
- Report Writing
- It is used for locomotion in medium sized pipes
- Its application areas include Chemical plants .i.e chemical pipelines, oil pipelines, gas pipelines, water pipelines, etc
- In future, it can be used for inspection for any type of blockage, rusting or corrosion in medium sized pipes by using a camera on its head
The final deliverable system is the hardware and software of the bioinspired earthworm locomotion robot. Composed of two modules connected through a prismatic joint. The modules are identical.
The technical details of each module are as follows:
- Contact Mechanism:
It is a dual scissor jack mechanism actuated by two dc geared motors (1.2 kg-cm torque,100 gm weight, 300 rpm). Each scissor jack mechanism consists of a closed chain with six links and 7 joints.
- Joint Mechanism:
It is a dual scissor jack mechanism actuated by a single dc geared motor (1.2 kg-cm torque,100 gm weight, 300 rpm). Each scissor jack mechanism consists of a closed chain with six links and 7 joints.
- Screw Mechanism:
A screw mechanism is use only with a dc geared motor (1.2 kg-cm torque,100 gm weight, 300 rpm) for the prismatic joint. The pitch of the screw is 2 mm and outer dia is 10 mm. This joint is used to perform rectilinear motion. One cycle is completed in 2.2 sec (without load) and 5 sec (with load).
The system is operated by a single battery of 12V.
Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemType of Industry Petroleum Technologies RoboticsSustainable Development Goals Industry, Innovation and InfrastructureRequired Resources| Item Name | Type | No. of Units | Per Unit Cost (in Rs) | Total (in Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total in (Rs) | 40350 | |||
| Geared DC Motor | Equipment | 3 | 500 | 1500 |
| Lead Screw | Equipment | 3 | 450 | 1350 |
| CNC Machining | Equipment | 1 | 28180 | 28180 |
| STM32F103C8 and debugger | Equipment | 2 | 700 | 1400 |
| L293D H-Bridge Motor Driver IC | Equipment | 6 | 130 | 780 |
| HC-05 Bluetooth Module | Equipment | 1 | 500 | 500 |
| T-Blocks | Equipment | 6 | 15 | 90 |
| Connecting Wires | Equipment | 30 | 6 | 180 |
| 9 volt batteries | Equipment | 5 | 50 | 250 |
| Plastic Pipe | Equipment | 1 | 400 | 400 |
| Nuts Bolts | Equipment | 28 | 15 | 420 |
| PCB, Soldeing Wires | Equipment | 2 | 300 | 600 |
| Veroboard | Equipment | 3 | 50 | 150 |
| 12V AC adapter | Equipment | 1 | 300 | 300 |
| L298N Dual Motor Controller Module | Equipment | 3 | 350 | 1050 |
| Overheads (Printing, Travelling) | Miscellaneous | 1 | 3200 | 3200 |