Energy requirements of inchworm crawling on a flexible surface and comparison to earthworm crawling

In a previous investigation, the minimum energy and power requirements for earthworm locomotion over flexible surfaces were analyzed. The optimum conditions of locomotion were obtained as a function of the number of cells, friction coefficients, stroke length, energy recovery factor, and tangential compliance. In this paper we focus on the energy requirements of inchworms which, unlike earthworms, consume energy both during the locomotion of the cells and the clamping. In order to estimate the energy requirements, an experiment was performed on the aorta of a bull in which the normal and tangential compliances were obtained. The analysis allows us to compare between inchworms, regular earthworms and earthworms with lower forward coefficient of friction, and determine which of the devices is more efficient with given environment conditions. We also propose a new gait of locomotion for inchworms which reduces the energy consumption.