Modeling and Control of an Eight-Legged Walking Robot Driven by Different Gait Generators

Abstract

In this paper, we studied both kinematic and dynamic models of a mammal-like octopod robot. To control robot legs, we employed a simple gait generator based on a sine function and we proposed modified generators of gait. The introduced generators allowed us to obtain better kinematic and dynamic properties of motion of the whole robot during walking. By changing the length and the height of a single robot step, it is possible to use one model to control the initial, regular, and final phases of the robot gait without the need of generating additional control signals. The simulation parameters were estimated based on the prototype designed in Inventor software. In turn, for numerical research, we used a simulation model implemented in Mathematica. The obtained results were presented in the form of time histories of basic kinematic and dynamic quantities of the robot gait as well as the configuration of the robot legs at the chosen time moments. The presented method allows us to precisely control the robot position in the vertical direction, which is also presented in this paper. As a result, we obtained better stability of the whole robot during walking and performing tasks, also on slippery terrains, i.e. on terrains with relatively low coefficient of friction between the ground and the robot feet.