Design of an insect scale robophysical model of the cockroach antenna with integrated sensing

Insect antennae are distributed biological sensors that provide rich spatial and temporal multimodal information about the surrounding environment, enabling informed decision making even in poorly lit conditions. While high-fidelity tactile perception is common in insects, there is no engineering analogue for insect-scale robots due in part to their low weight and power budgets, placing strict limits on their capacity for autonomous navigation. The American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) antenna-with its approximately 140 strain sensing segments making up the passive flagellum-is one such example of a highly integrated and distributed mechanosensory system enabling tactile navigation with low overhead in weight and energy consumption. Inspired by this highly capable biological system, we have designed a near scale (40x4mm) modular eight element robophysical antenna prototype with integrated sliding capacitive sensing and readout electronics that are capable of measuring deflection (~1um resolution) along the its length with high accuracy and speed (~1 KHz, 2 mrad). The antenna is constructed using the stack laminate approach, which has been successfully applied to actuators, sensors, and hinges in a variety of millimeter scale systems. This model will ideally enable biologists to validate mechanical principles governing tactile sensing and roboticists to achieve autonomous touch-based navigation at the insect scale.
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