2D Traveling Wave Driven Piezoelectric Plate Robot for Planar Motion

—In this paper, a concept design of a novel Traveling Wave Driven Piezoelectric Plate Robot (TWDPPR) for planar motion is presented. The TWDPPR consists of an aluminium plate structure, with four non-collocated piezoelectric patches bonded on its surface. A two dimensions modeling of non-collocated piezoelectric patches bonded on thin structures developed and validated in previous work is used in this paper to model the TWDPPR based on the " two modes excitation " method for propulsion. A preliminary design is presented and the model is then used to verify the generation of the 2D traveling wave on the plate for planar motion. A prototype is fabricated and a forward, backward, & steering motions are experimentally achieved. An experimental characterization of the TWDPPR is given in this paper.