• 대한기계학회논문집A
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.287-294
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• 2006

In recent years, capsule endoscope is highlighted for the patient's convenience and the possibility of the application in the small intestine. However, the capsule endoscope has some limitations to get the image of the digestive organ because its movement only depends on the peristaltic motion. In order to solve these problems, locomotion of capsule endoscope is necessary. In this paper, we analyze the locomotive mechanism of earthworm-like robot proposed as locomotive device of capsule endoscope and derive the condition which can Judge the possibility of its mobility using theoretical analysis. Based on a biomechanical modeling and simulation, the critical stroke, that is minimum stroke of the earthworm-like robot to perform motion inside small intestine, is obtained. Also, this derived critical stroke can be validated by the moving test of fabricated earthworm-like robot. Consequently, it is expected that this study can supply useful information to design of earthworm-like robot for mobility of capsule endoscope.