Experimental Study of an Ultra-Mobile Vehicle for Off-Road Transportation. Appendix 2. Dissertation. Kinematic Optimal Design of a Six-Legged Walking Machine

摘要

Chapter 2 is a review of previous work in the following two areas: The mechanical structure of walking machines and walking gaits. In Chapter 3, the mathematical and graphical background for gait analysis is presented. The gait selection problem in different types of terrain is also discussed. Detailed studies of the major gaits used in level walking are presented. In Chapter 4, gaits for walking on gradients and methods to improve stability are studied. Also, gaits which may be used in crossing three major obstacle types are studied. In Chapter 5, the design of leg geometries based on four-bar linkages is discussed. Major techniques to optimize leg linkages for optimal walking volume are introduced. In Chapter 6, the design of a different leg geometry, based on a pantograph mechanism, is presented. A theoretical background of the motion characteristics of pantographs is given first. In Chapter 7, some other related items of the leg design are discussed. One of these is the foot-ankle system. A few conceptual passive foot-ankle systems are introduced. The second is a numerical method to find the shortest crank for a four-finitely-separated-position-synthesis problem. The shortest crank usually results in a crank rocker, which is the most desirable linkage type in many applications. Finally, in Chapter 8, the research work presented in this dissertation is evaluated and the future development of walking machines is discussed.