Hopping on Uneven Terrains With an Underwater One-Legged Robot

Abstract

In this letter, a fundamental model for underwater legged locomotion, called U-SLIP, is presented and implemented on a robotic platform. Unlike traditional locomotion models, U-SLIP addresses specific hydrodynamic contributions, such as drag, buoyancy, and added mass. By taking as a reference the USLIP model, we derived the design principles to build an effective underwater legged robot able to achieve self-stabilizing running. For the first time, a robotic platform can exhibit a dynamic mode of locomotion composed of swimming and pushing phases, demonstrating self-stabilizing running with a little control. Experiments conducted over different uneven terrains corroborate the effectiveness of the proposed model.