A Mole-inspired Incisor-Burrowing Robotic Platform for Planetary Exploration
Ran Xu, Jiabin Liu, Zhaofeng Liang, Hongmin Zheng, Kunquan Zheng, Zibiao Chen, Jiawei Chen, Tao Zhang
Abstract
Planetary exploration requires efficient methods for subsurface sampling, especially in extreme energy limitations. Traditional drilling methods are often energy intensive and require large platforms, limiting their applicability. Bio-inspired burrowing techniques, inspired by animals like moles, offer lightweight, low-power alternatives suitable for small robotic platforms. This paper presents a novel bio-inspired robotic platform, the Mole-like Incisor-Burrowing Robotic Platform (MIRP), designed to mimic the incisor-burrowing behavior of naked mole rats. The MIRP features an 11 DOFs mechanism with a compact design (220 mm × 140 mm × 80 mm) and uses servomotors to achieve low energy consumption. The robot combines a qu0adrupedal locomotion mechanism with an incisor-burrowing mechanism, allowing it to navigate granular terrains and perform excavation tasks. Kinematic analysis, including inverse kinematics and close-chain analysis, was conducted to optimize the robot’s motion strategy. A prototype was developed and tested in a simulated lunar regolith environment to test its maneuverability and burrowing performance. The power consumption of the prototype is below 10 W. This work validates the feasibility of bio-inspired incisor-burrowing for planetary exploration, offering a cost-effective and efficient solution for future extraterrestrial missions.
BibTeX
@inproceedings{iros2025_amoleinspiredinc,
title = {A Mole-inspired Incisor-Burrowing Robotic Platform for Planetary Exploration},
author = {Ran Xu and Jiabin Liu and Zhaofeng Liang and Hongmin Zheng and Kunquan Zheng and Zibiao Chen and Jiawei Chen and Tao Zhang and Kun Xu and Xilun Ding},
booktitle = {IROS 2025},
year = {2025}
}