Abstract
Multi-legged walking robots are suitable platforms for unstructured and rough terrains because of their immense locomotion capabilities. These are, however, redeemed by more sophisticated control and energy-demanding motion in comparison to wheeled robots. Particularly, electrically actuated multi-legged walking robots suffer from the adverse ratio between the robot body weight and payload capacity. Moreover, the locomotion speed and endurance ratio is far from what can be achieved with wheeled robots. In this paper, we focus on six-legged walking robots with statically-stable gait. Based on the analysis of existing solutions, we propose a novel construction of the affordable electrically actuated robot with substantial improvements in its motion capabilities, locomotion speed, reliability, and endurance. The proposed design is implemented in a Hexapod Ant Robot (HAntR) that is accompanied by the developed locomotion control approach to improve its rough terrains negotiation capabilities by the active distribution of the robot weight to the legs in the stance phase. Properties of the robot have been experimentally verified in extensive deployments, and based on the experimental benchmarking of the built prototype, HAntR is capable of locomotion for over an hour with the payload of 85% of its weight, and its maximum crawled distance per one second is 87% of its nominal length. HAntR represents significant improvements not only regarding the robots with identical actuators but also in comparison to other existing platforms. Therefore, we consider HAntR represents a step further towards a wide range of future applications and deployments of six-legged walking robots.
Highlights
Multi-legged robots are known to outperform wheeled and tracked platforms in rough terrains operations [1]
We analyzed the main influencing factors of the existing solutions, including our experience with hexapod walking robots [23], and we propose a novel robot design to improve the aforementioned characteristics of multi-legged walking robots
Based on the review of the existing hexapod walking platforms of similar size, we propose a new mechanical design of the robot that can utilize electronic actuators to negotiate rough terrains using only the position feedback from the servomotors
Summary
Multi-legged robots are known to outperform wheeled and tracked platforms in rough terrains operations [1]. P. Čížek et al.: Design, Construction, and Rough-Terrain Locomotion Control of Novel Hexapod Walking Robot design based on electrically actuated joints because of our interest in capabilities to negotiate individual footsteps under challenging conditions. One of the main issues of the existing electrically-actuated six-legged walking platforms is the adverse ratio between the robot weight and payload capacity related to the relatively short endurance on battery and slower locomotion in comparison to the wheeled robots during the operation on flat terrains. The issues are closely related to the robot morphology, leg design, and mechanical construction of the robot In this sense, we analyzed the main influencing factors of the existing solutions, including our experience with hexapod walking robots [23], and we propose a novel robot design to improve the aforementioned characteristics of multi-legged walking robots.
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