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Improving Kinematic Flexibility and Walking Performance of a Six-legged Robot by Rationally Designing Leg Morphology

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Abstract

This paper explores the design of leg morphology in a six-legged robot. Inspired by nature, where animals have different leg morphology, we examined how the difference in leg morphology influences behaviors of the robot. To this end, a systematic search was conducted by scanning over the parameter space consisting of default angles of leg joints of the six-legged robot, with two main objectives: to maximize the kinematic flexibility and walking performance of the robot. Results show that (1) to have a high kinematic flexibility with both the torso and swing legs, the femur segment should tilt downwards by 5°–10° and the tibia segment should be vertically downwards or with a slight inward tilt; (2) to achieve relatively energy-efficient and steady walking, the tibia segment should be approximately vertically downwards, with the femur segment tilting upwards to lower the torso height. The results of this study suggest that behaviors of legged robots can be passively enhanced by careful mechanical design choices, thereby leading to more competent legged machines.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51805074, U1713201 and 51605082), State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System (HIT) (Grant Nos. SKLRS-2018-KF-02 and SKLRS-2017-KF-07), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant Nos. 2018M631799 and 2019T120213), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant Nos. N170303007 and N180304015) and Postdoctoral Science Foundation of Northeastern University (Grant No. 20180311).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, China

    Jie Chen & Zhongchao Liang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China

    Yanhe Zhu & Jie Zhao

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  1. Jie Chen
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  2. Zhongchao Liang
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  3. Yanhe Zhu
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  4. Jie Zhao
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Zhongchao Liang or Yanhe Zhu.

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Chen, J., Liang, Z., Zhu, Y. et al. Improving Kinematic Flexibility and Walking Performance of a Six-legged Robot by Rationally Designing Leg Morphology. J Bionic Eng 16, 608–620 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42235-019-0049-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42235-019-0049-9

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