Abstract
The scale parameter is one of the key factors which influence the structure and locomotion characteristics of the legged robot. The scale effect mechanism of animals in nature was revealed, and the influence of scale parameters on animal was analyzed. This paper establishes a dynamic model of insect-imitating hexapod robot. A high-fidelity simulation platform for hexapod robot was established based on Vortex, and the foot-ground interaction mechanics model was established and applied to the developed simulation platform. Based on the existing six-legged robot prototype, the validity of the relevant model and the fidelity of the simulation platform are verified. The influence of a robot’s mass and characteristic size on its feature locomotion was analyzed. The foot force rises with the increase of the whole robot mass, and the foot force of the unit robot mass decreases with the increase of the whole robot mass, eventually tending to a fixed value. The maximum joint torque rises with the increase of the whole robot mass. The system power rises with the increase of the whole robot mass, but the system power of unit robot mass is basically a constant value. The peak system power decreases with the increase of the distance between the front and the rear leg, and the joint torque rises with the increase of the distance between the front and rear leg. The related research results have guiding significance and reference value for the system design of hexapod robots.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (51705097), Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (2017M621258), Self-Planned Task of State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System (HIT) (SKLRS20 1803C), Scientific Research Foundation of Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai (HIT(WH)201601), and Scientific Research Innovation Foundation of HIT(WH).
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Yiqun Liu is a lecturer at School of Automotive Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, China. He received his Ph.D. at Harbin Institute of Technology, China, in 2016. His research interests include intelligent mobile robots and special vehicles.
Hao Li, born in 1994, is a graduate student at School of Automotive Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, China. He received his B.S. from Anhui University of Technology, China, in 2017. His research interests include design and simulation of hexapod robots.
Jianfeng Wang, born in 1980, is an Associate Professor at School of Automotive Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, China. He received his Ph.D. degree at Harbin Institute of Technology, China, in 2018. His research interests include special vehicles and robotics.
Liang Ding is currently a Professor and a Ph.D. candidate Supervisor at Harbin Institute of Technology, China. He received his Ph.D. from Harbin Institute of Technology, China, in 2010. His research interests include mechanics, control and simulation of mobile robots.
Tao Liu is currently a Professor at School of Automotive Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, China. He received his Ph.D. from Harbin Institute of Technology, China, in 2010. His research interests include special vehicles and robotics.
Haibo Gao is currently a Professor and a Ph.D. candidate Supervisor at Harbin Institute of Technology, China. He received his Ph.D. from Harbin Institute of Technology in 2003. His research interests include mobile robots, aerospace mechanism and control.
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Liu, Y., Li, H., Wang, J. et al. Scale effect mechanism research of insect-imitating hexapod robot. J Mech Sci Technol 33, 2873–2882 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-019-0535-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-019-0535-3