Adaptive Gait for a Leg-Wheel Robot Traversing Rough Terrain (Second Report: Step-Up Gait)

摘要

A leg-wheel robot with four legs and two wheels mechanically separated features high mobility and stability on rough terrain. The adaptive gait for such terrain consists of three gait strategies. Here we focus on a step-up gait, part of an adaptive gait. Simulation and experiments demonstrated the feasibility of our proposal. Regarding the point of the step-up gait flow, when the robot reaches a step, it does not advance easily because it cannot take a normal gait in ascending the step. The difference between actual and desired wheel angles grows. The starting point of the step is detected using this information. The robot stops and prepares to ascend the step, placing all legs at the starting points of their work space. The robot then rises supported by its legs and wheels to enhance stability and to reduce energy use. To rise, it requires (1) acquisition of the target rise and (2) the correspondence in the difference between targeted and actual height.