A Biomimetic Vertebraic Soft Robotic Tail for High-Speed, High-Force Dynamic Maneuvering

Abstract

Robotic tails can enhance the stability and maneuverability of mobile robots, but current designs face a trade-off between the power of rigid systems and the safety of soft ones. Rigid tails generate large inertial effects but pose risks in unstructured environments, while soft tails lack sufficient speed and force. We present a Biomimetic Vertebraic Soft Robotic (BVSR) tail that resolves this challenge through a compliant pneumatic body reinforced by a passively jointed vertebral column inspired by musculoskeletal structures. This hybrid design decouples load-bearing and actuation, enabling high-pressure actuation (up to 6 bar) for superior dynamics while preserving compliance. A dedicated kinematic and dynamic model incorporating vertebral constraints is developed and validated experimentally. The BVSR tail achieves angular velocities above 670 deg/s and generates inertial forces and torques up to 23.6 N and 2.48 Nm with a 500 g tip payload, indicating over 200% improvement compared to non-vertebraic designs. Demonstrations of rapid cart stabilization, obstacle negotiation, high-speed steering, and quadruped integration confirm its versatility and potential for application in agile robotic platforms.