Configuration of Autonomous Walkers for Extreme Terrain

Robots that can competently, efficiently, and autonomously operate in extreme terrain do not exist. Although walking locomotion offers unique advantages, existing walking mech anisms are not suited to the comprehensive requirements of extreme terrain autonomy. This work synthesizes and ana lyzes candidate walker configurations, implements and tests a walker of unprecedented capability and design, and devel ops insights regarding walker configuration and the class of orthogonal-legged walking robots. Three orthogonal-legged walker configurations are described and compared in a variety of terrain situations. Two of the configurations-circulating and weaving-are unique, as they place recovering feet ahead of supporting feet and are specifically notable for their long stride. The third uses a traditional follow-the-leader gait. The Ambler is a fully operable autonomous walking robot built in part to further investigate the benefits of the orthogonal leg and circulating gait configuration. The orthogonal leg appears to be well suited to autonomous walking in extreme terrain. A circulating walker's advantages—as demonstrated by the Am bler-notwithstanding, a follow-the-leader orthogonal-legged walker appears to have superior overall mobility and stability (the crucial capabilities in extreme terrain).

[1]  Kenneth J. Waldron,et al.  Force and motion management in legged locomotion , 1986, 1985 24th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control.

[2]  H. Thomas,et al.  Planning strategies for the Ambler walking robot , 1990, 1990 IEEE International Conference on Systems Engineering.

[3]  Kenneth J. Waldron,et al.  Machines That Walk: The Adaptive Suspension Vehicle , 1988 .

[4]  Shigeo Hirose,et al.  A Study of Design and Control of a Quadruped Walking Vehicle , 1984 .

[5]  P. Nagy.  An investigation of walker/terrain interaction , 1992 .

[6]  David J. Manko,et al.  General model of legged locomotion on natural terrain , 1992, Kluwer international series in engineering and computer science.

[7]  Eric A. Ribble,et al.  Technical Description of the Adaptive Suspension Vehicle , 1990, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[8]  Hidetoshi Takahashi,et al.  Development on Aquatic Walking Robot for Underwater Inspection , 1988 .

[9]  Charles A. Klein,et al.  Automatic body regulation for maintaining stability of a legged vehicle during rough-terrain locomotion , 1985, IEEE J. Robotics Autom..

[10]  Reid G. Simmons.  Coordinating planning, perception, and action for mobile robots , 1991, SGAR.

[11]  Katsuhiko Inagaki,et al.  Development of a hexapod walking robot: 'Hexax-I' , 1991, Proceedings IROS '91:IEEE/RSJ International Workshop on Intelligent Robots and Systems '91.

[12]  K. Yoneda,et al.  Design of prismatic quadruped walking vehicle TITAN VI , 1991, Fifth International Conference on Advanced Robotics 'Robots in Unstructured Environments.

[13]  R. McGhee,et al.  The adaptive suspension vehicle , 1986, IEEE Control Systems Magazine.

[14]  Regis Hoffman,et al.  Perception of rugged terrain for a walking robot: true confessions and new directions , 1991, Proceedings IROS '91:IEEE/RSJ International Workshop on Intelligent Robots and Systems '91.

[15]  A. P. Bessonov,et al.  The Analysis of Gaits in Six-Legged Vehicles According to Their Static Stability , 1974 .

[16]  I. Kweon.  Modeling rugged terrain by mobile robots with multiple sensors , 1991 .

[17]  Hervé Delingette,et al.  A perception and Manipulation System for collecting rock samples , 1991 .

[18]  Gerald P. Roston,et al.  Dead Reckoning Navigation For Walking Robots , 1992, Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[19]  Reid G. Simmons,et al.  Learning Football Evaluation for a Walking Robot , 1991, ML.

[20]  Kenneth J. Waldron,et al.  Configuration Design of the Adaptive Suspension Vehicle , 1984 .

[21]  S. Barghava,et al.  Stability analysis of the walking beam vehicle , 1991, Fifth International Conference on Advanced Robotics 'Robots in Unstructured Environments.

[22]  Takeo Kanade,et al.  Terrain mapping for a roving planetary explorer , 1989, Proceedings, 1989 International Conference on Robotics and Automation.