Design and movement mechanism analysis of a multiple degree of freedom bionic crocodile robot based on the characteristic of “death roll”

Abstract This paper introduces a multi‐degree of freedom bionic crocodile robot designed to tackle the challenge of cleaning pollutants and debris from the surfaces of narrow, shallow rivers. The robot mimics the “death roll” motion of crocodiles which is a technique used for object disintegration. First, the design incorporated a swinging tail mechanism using a multi‐section oscillating guide‐bar mechanism. By analyzing three‐, four‐, and five‐section tail structures, the four‐section tail was identified as the most effective structure, offering optimal strength and swing amplitude. Each section of the tail can reach maximum swing angles of 8.05°, 20.95°, 35.09°, and 43.84°, respectively, under a single motor's drive. Next, the robotic legs were designed with a double parallelogram mechanism, facilitating both crawling and retracting movements. In addition, the mouth employed a double‐rocker mechanism for efficient closure and locking, achieving an average torque of 5.69 N m with a motor torque of 3.92 N m. Moreover, the robotic body was designed with upper and lower segment structures and waterproofing function was also considered. Besides, the kinematic mechanism and mechanical properties of the bionic crocodile structure were analyzed from the perspectives of modeling and field tests. The results demonstrated an exceptional kinematic performance of the bionic crocodile robot, effectively replicating the authentic movement characteristics of a crocodile.