An Approach to the Use of Terrain- Preview Information in Rough-Terrain Locomotion by a Hexapod Walking Machine

Until the present time, experiments with computer-controlled walking machines have generally not made use of terrain- preview information. This paper presents the results of exper iments with a laboratory-scale hexapod walking machine furnished with a triangulation ranging system making use of two charge-injection-device (CID) television cameras and a hand-held laser. The operator uses the laser to designate candidate footholds, which are accepted or rejected automati cally by the machine. Accepted footholds guide the machine over rough terrain with very little disturbance to body atti tude. This semiautomatic system represents a step toward the eventual realization of a fully automatic system. The paper includes a description of both hardware and software, and presents experimental results verifying the practicality of the approach.

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