Decentralized Control of Centipede-like Multi-legged Robots with Passive Intersegment Joints Based on Follow-the-Contact-Point Gait Control

This paper proposes a novel locomotion control, called Follow-the-Contact-Point (FCP) gait control, for a centipede-like multi-legged robot. The centipede-like multi-legged robot is composed by connecting segments, which have a trunk and a pair of legs, via a passive joint. This control method is motivated from behavioral knowledge of a centipede that each leg always contacts on the point which the anterior leg contacted. The FCP gait control realizes the walking behavior of centipede via decentralized event-driven control structure. In addition, merely by planning and allocating the contact point of legs of a head segment adequately, the robot can change the moving direction and also climb over an obstacle. We clarify the feasibility of the FCP gait control by showing the result of physical simulation of a 20-legged robot.