Maximizing Walking Step Length for a Near Omni-Directional Hexapod Robot

A foot path planning algorithm is presented for a robot with six limbs symmetrically located on the faces of its hexagonal body, enabling it to walk at a constant height with an alternating tripod gait. The symmetry results in near omni-directional locomotion capability, so the algorithm is formulated for walking in any direction and at any height. The approach is to determine the maximum length foot path through each limb’s workspace and then modify those foot paths based upon static stability analysis. The stability analysis is conducted in two phases to ensure stability without excessively reducing step length. Compared to an optimization approach, the algorithm yields foot paths within 9.1% of the maximal foot paths for all directions and heights. Unlike the optimization approach, the developed algorithm is computationally efficient enough to be implemented in realtime.Copyright © 2004 by ASME