Energy Losses during Intestine Deformation – A New Method of Robot Propulsion?

Abstract

Currently, numerous studies are conducted on diagnostic devices for the digestive system. To correctly design such a device, it is necessary to fully specify the parameters of the environment in which the device is supposed to operate. Most of the research conducted on the intestines focuses on mechanical and tribological parameters connected to work with diagnostic capsules. Yet, to simulate the work of the robot moving with a snake-like motion it is necessary to estimate the level of energy dissipated by the intestine deformation as it serves as a main driving factor, which is proven in the paper.