Over its lifetime, the hexapedal robot RHex has shown impressive performance. Combining preflexes with a range of control schemes, various behaviors such as leaping, running, bounding, as well as running on rough terrain have been exhibited. In order to better determine the extent to which the passive and mechanical aspects of the design contribute to performance, a new version of the hexapedal spring-loaded inverted pendulum (SLIP)-based runner with a novel minimal control scheme is developed and tested. A unique drive mechanism is utilized to allow for operation (including steering) of the robot with only two motors. The simplified robot operates robustly and it exhibits walking, SLIP-like running, or high-speed motion profiles depending only on the actuation frequency. In order to better capture the critical nonlinear properties of the robot’s legs, a more detailed dynamic model termed R2-SLIP is presented. The performance of the robot is compared to the basic SLIP, the R-SLIP, and this new R2-SLIP model. Furthermore, these results suggest that, in the future, the R2-SLIP model can be used to tune/improve the design of the leg compliance and noncircular gears to optimize performance.
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August 2015
Research-Article
Design and Performance Evaluation of a Bio-Inspired and Single-Motor-Driven Hexapod Robot With Dynamical Gaits
Ke-Jung Huang,
Ke-Jung Huang
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: b95502111@ntu.edu.tw
National Taiwan University
,Taipei 106
, Taiwan
e-mail: b95502111@ntu.edu.tw
Search for other works by this author on:
Shen-Chiang Chen,
Shen-Chiang Chen
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: b94501023@ntu.edu.tw
National Taiwan University
,Taipei 106
, Taiwan
e-mail: b94501023@ntu.edu.tw
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Gabriel Lopes,
Gabriel Lopes
Delft Center for Systems and Control,
e-mail: G.A.DelgadoLopes@tudelft.nl
Delft University of Technology
,Delft 2628
, The Netherlands
e-mail: G.A.DelgadoLopes@tudelft.nl
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Jonathan Clark,
Jonathan Clark
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: jeclark@fsu.edu
Florida State University
,Tallahassee, FL 32310
e-mail: jeclark@fsu.edu
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Pei-Chun Lin
Pei-Chun Lin
1
Mem. ASME
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: peichunlin@ntu.edu.tw
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National Taiwan University
,Taipei 106
, Taiwan
e-mail: peichunlin@ntu.edu.tw
1Corresponding author.
Search for other works by this author on:
Ke-Jung Huang
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: b95502111@ntu.edu.tw
National Taiwan University
,Taipei 106
, Taiwan
e-mail: b95502111@ntu.edu.tw
Shen-Chiang Chen
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: b94501023@ntu.edu.tw
National Taiwan University
,Taipei 106
, Taiwan
e-mail: b94501023@ntu.edu.tw
Haldun Komsuoglu
Gabriel Lopes
Delft Center for Systems and Control,
e-mail: G.A.DelgadoLopes@tudelft.nl
Delft University of Technology
,Delft 2628
, The Netherlands
e-mail: G.A.DelgadoLopes@tudelft.nl
Jonathan Clark
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: jeclark@fsu.edu
Florida State University
,Tallahassee, FL 32310
e-mail: jeclark@fsu.edu
Pei-Chun Lin
Mem. ASME
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: peichunlin@ntu.edu.tw
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National Taiwan University
,Taipei 106
, Taiwan
e-mail: peichunlin@ntu.edu.tw
1Corresponding author.
Manuscript received July 17, 2014; final manuscript received March 3, 2015; published online April 14, 2015. Assoc. Editor: Jaydev P. Desai.
J. Mechanisms Robotics. Aug 2015, 7(3): 031017 (12 pages)
Published Online: August 1, 2015
Article history
Received:
July 17, 2014
Revision Received:
March 3, 2015
Online:
April 14, 2015
Citation
Huang, K., Chen, S., Komsuoglu, H., Lopes, G., Clark, J., and Lin, P. (August 1, 2015). "Design and Performance Evaluation of a Bio-Inspired and Single-Motor-Driven Hexapod Robot With Dynamical Gaits." ASME. J. Mechanisms Robotics. August 2015; 7(3): 031017. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4029975
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