Research/ PLANETARY ROBOTICS
Mole‐Inspired Robot Burrowing with Forelimbs for Planetary Soil Exploration
Tao Zhang, Hongyu Wei, Hongmin Zheng, Zhaofeng Liang, Haotian Yang, Yinliang Zhang, Haifei Zhu, Yisheng Guan, Xilun Ding, Kunyang Wang, Kun Xu
Surface Mobility & TerramechanicsOpenAlex topic: Soil Mechanics and Vehicle Dynamics · Design, Mechanisms & HardwareOpenAlex topic: Soft Robotics and Applications
OpenAlexSoil Mechanics and Vehicle Dynamics · Soft Robotics and Applications · Robotic Locomotion and Control
Mole-Inspired Robot for Planetary Exploration This cover image (referring to article 2300392 by Tao Zhang, Kunyang Wang, Kun Xu, and co-workers) shows a mole-inspired robot burrowing inside the lunar regolith to create a small cave for in-situ detection or instrument placement in extraterrestrial subterranean exploration. The mole-inspired robot (child robot) connects to a rover (mother robot) with a cable for communication, power supply, and retraction. The rover first creates a cave entrance to fix the mole-inspired robot, and then the robot can burrow into the cave with low power consumption and high energy efficiency.