Proc. 4 th Int. Conf. On Climbing and Walking Robots, Berns and Dillmann eds., Prof. Eng. Pub., 69-76, 2001. Insect Designs for Improved Robot Mobility Roger D. Quinn, Gabriel M. Nelson, Richard J. Bachmann, Daniel A. Kingsley, John Offi, and Roy E. Ritzmann Mechanical Engineering and Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA SYNOPSIS This paper reviews work performed in the Biorobotics Lab at Case Western Reserve University. Our goal is to use intelligent biological inspiration to develop robots with mobility approaching that of legged animals. We have produced a series of robots that have mobility increasingly more similar to that of cockroach. Some of our other projects use more simplified designs and benefit from more abstract biological principles. A new robot uses one drive motor and its gait changes passively so that it walks at high speed in a tripod gait and climbs obstacles with its legs in-phase. 1 INTRODUCTION The goal of our work in the Biorobotics Laboratory is to use insect mechanical and control system designs as inspiration for the development of robots with improved mobility and mission capability. We use intelligent inspiration rather than trying to mimic the animal, which is not always possible or desirable (1). Available technology often makes it infeasible to copy an animal’s systems. For example, electrically actuated artificial muscle is not yet available. Furthermore, considering our goals, there is no reason to model an animal’s systems that do not contribute significantly to its mobility. The mobility of animals, including many insects, is typically superior to current legged robots. This fact recommends the use of animal designs in robots. However, the reality of current technology often encourages engineers to use different designs for legged robots than those found in nature. Some robots use mechanisms to couple their joints for the purposes of reducing the number of actuators or simplifying the control problem. Actuators are typically heavy and reducing their number