★Control of a Chain-like Locomotion System Subject to Undulatory Excitation★

Abstract The motion of a chain of three identical bodies along a straight line in a dry-friction medium is studied. The motion is excited and controlled by changing the distances between the bodies of the chain. An undulatory excitation mode is proposed, in which the distances between the adjacent bodies of the chain change periodically and the time histories of the distances in the pairs of adjacent bodies consecutively repeat each other with a constant time shift. Piecewise linear and piecewise quadratic excitation laws are considered and compared.