Dynamic behaviors for a hybrid leg-wheel mobile platform

A hybrid platform for an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV), one with legs and wheels, was initially considered to yield a design that possessed a high degree of intrinsic mobility. Integrating a high level of mobility reduces the UGV's perception and computational requirements for successful semi-autonomous or autonomous terrain negotiation. An investigation into the dynamic capabilities of the hybrid design revealed a large amount of otherwise impossible behaviors. The widened scope of maneuvers enabled the simulated robot to negotiate higher obstacles, clear larger ditches and generally improved its rough terrain mobility. A scalability study was also undertaken to predict dynamic potential of various platform sizes and to aid in the selection of design specifications such as motor torque-speed curves. The hybrid design of the platform (legs with active wheels) proved invaluable in achieving these dynamic behaviors and revealed that the leg-wheel design was as fundamental to dynamic capabilities, as it was to intrinsic mobility.