Improved Locomotion Capabilities for Quadrupeds Through Active Multi-Point-Contact Feet

Zusammenfassung (Abstract) :

With increasing mechanization of our daily lives, the expectations and demands in robotic systems increase in the general public and in scientists alike. Especially, hazardous environments such as exploration of extraterrestrial planets or nuclear disaster sites demand robotic solutions with locomotion capabilities in unstructured terrain. Four-legged systems can provide the desired mobility. The hominid robot Charlie has, in contrast to most quadrupeds, an active ankle joint with Multi- Contact-Point-Feet to support four-legged as well as two-legged locomotion. In this paper, the advantages of this foot design for four-legged locomotion is analyzed. The paper summarizes briefly Charlie’s hardware and software components. In detail, the foot design and the behavior modules which utilize the possibilities of actively controlled Multi-Contact-Point-Feet are described. The experimental results show that a positive effect on traction and range of motion are achieved which improve the mobility of quadrupeds.

Files:

20180131_Improved_Locomotion_Capabilities_for_Quadrupeds_Through_Active.pdf

Links:

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8384662