A Two-Screw Squirm Micro-Robot for Gastrointestine: Design and Experiments

This paper describes the design of a new prototype of a micro-robot for gastrointestine, which will avoid disadvantages of traditional endoscopes. After analyzing motion pattern of the robot, we decide to use two clamping mechanisms and a linear locomotion mechanism by simulating the squirm pattern of inchworm. Moreover, we make sure the mechanisms are operating effective and stable by using two-screw for transmission. After assembly process, the size of the robot is φ15.24mm×82.87mm, it can extend 9.06mm radically, axial pace is 13.8mm and therefore the theoretical speed is 0.86mm/s. Experimental tests show that the robot are capable of making movement under different environments effectively.