A walking and wheeled hybrid locomotion with twin-frame structure robot

Abstract

In order to perform tasks and move using separate mechanisms, robots are required to have many degrees of freedom (DOF). If robots can perform both wheeled locomotion on flat ground and legged locomotion on uneven terrain, they can achieve much higher mobility. We have already proposed an effective design method with both mobility and manipulability, that is a method of combining each mechanism. The designed robot uses the same mechanism for locomotion and manipulation. By applying this concept to locomotion, it is possible to use the same mechanism for legged locomotion and wheeled locomotion. In this paper, this concept and maneuvers for locomotion are described and an experimental model and experiment results are reported.