Dynamic Gaits and Control in Flexible Body Quadruped Robot

Abstract

Legged robots are highly attractive for
\nmilitary purposes such as carrying heavy loads on uneven
\nterrain for long durations because of the higher mobility
\nthey give on rough terrain compared to wheeled
\nvehicles/robots. Existing state-of-the-art quadruped robots
\ndeveloped by Boston Dynamics such as LittleDog and
\nBigDog do not have flexible bodies. It can be easily seen that
\nthe agility of quadruped animals such as dogs, cats, and deer
\netc. depend to a large extent on their ability to flex their
\nbodies. However, simulation study on step climbing in 3D
\nterrain quadruped robot locomotion with flexible body has
\nnot been reported in literature. This paper aims to study the
\neffect of body flexibility on stability and energy efficiency in
\nwalking mode, trot mode and running (bounding) mode on
\nstep climbing.