Kinematic and dynamic simulation of an octopod robot controlled by different central pattern generators

Abstract

The goal of the study was to perform both kinematic and dynamic simulation of an octopod robot walking on a flat and hard surface. To drive robot legs, different non-linear mechanical oscillators were employed as central pattern generators. Aside from using some well-known oscillators, a new model was proposed. Time series of robot’s kinematic and dynamic locomotion parameters were computed and discussed. Displacement and velocity of the centre of gravity of the robot, ground reaction forces acting on the robot legs, as well as some aspects of energy consumption of a walking robot were analysed to assess the central pattern generators. The obtained kinematic and dynamic parameters showed some advantages of the applied generator. In particular, the gait of the robot was most stable when the robot was driven by the proposed central pattern generator model.