Robot motion by simultaneously wheel and leg propulsion

Abstract

Legged locomotion is effective in extreme ground conditions, but less effective with high speed on flat hard ground where wheeled locomotion is effective. We introduce a way to combine legged and wheeled locomotion (rolking) to gain effective mobility for mobile robot which has to operate in variable conditions including both natural terrain and structured environment. In addition to effective mobility, rolking mode enables possibility to measure the shapes and unevenness of the ground by probing it with the wheel-leg.