Session: MR-07-01 - Novel Mechanisms, Robots, and Applications

Paper Number: 90614

90614 - Towards Creating Robust Walking Multi-Legged Robots for Traversing Different Terrains 

This paper explores the kinematic synthesis, design, and pilot experimental testing of a six-legged walking robotic platform able to traverse through different terrains such as stiff, soft, and slippery surfaces. The design approach builds up incrementally starting with studying the basic human leg walking trajectory and then defining a "relaxed" kinematic task. The "relaxed" kinematic task consists only of two contact locations (toe-off and heel-strike) with nominal higher order motion task specifications compatible with foot-terrain(s) contact and curvature constraints in the vicinity of the two contacts. Specifically, given the set of velocities and accelerations which the foot approaches the terrain(s), a nominal task velocity and acceleration are derived. This set must be expressive enough to capture the systems behavior in the vicinity of the two contacts. As the next step, an eight-bar leg image is created based on the "relaxed" kinematic task and incorporated within a six-legged walking robot platform. Finally, the ability of the walking platform to traverse through the different terrains without explicit control was experimentally tested. The pilot experimental results suggest that the proposed "relaxed" higher order motion task combined with the leg morphological properties and feet material allowed the platform to walk stably on the different terrains.

Presenting Author: Vanessa Audrey University of California, Irvine

Presenting Author Biography: Vanessa Audrey is a Mechanical Engineering graduate student from University of California, Irvine. Vanessa completed her bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering at University of California, Irvine in 2019. Vanessa's studies focus on Systems and Designs, with emphasis in kinematics of walking locomotion.

Authors:

Nina Robson California State University
Vanessa Audrey University of California, Irvine