IONS: A Quadruped Robot for Multi-terrain Applications

Abstract

In this paper we present the design and development of the IONS (Indoor Outdoor Navigation and Surveillance), a versatile, low-cost, power autonomous, statically stable quadruped robot.The robot has unique compliant wheeled-leg limb design that enables it to climb up and descend stairs of various riser heights.It is designed for statically stable walking, turning, climbing and descending gaits using minimal terrain sensing and simple clock driven open-loop control mechanism.It is equally effective in indoor as well as outdoor settings.Its salient features include auto-alignment of the body while climbing stairs, distinction between stairs and obstacles, collision avoidance etc.The robot is controlled using a web based user interface under ubiquitous Wi-Fi network.The operator use live video feed streamed from on-board camera mounted on the robot platform for gait regulation.On-board system keeps track of signal strength, detects communication failure and sends health status report of the robot to the operator console at regular intervals.