Hexapod Locomotion of a Leg-Wheel Hybrid Mobile Robot

Abstract

Legged vehicles are more flexible and mobile on difficult terrain, comparing to wheeled robots. Wheels are convenient on flat surfaces or specially prepared surfaces, wheeled vehicles being faster than legged ones. Also, wheeled robots are simpler in terms of mechanical architecture and control algorithms. But they do not perform well on uneven terrain, which is the case in real life, legged robots becoming more interesting to research and explore. This is why hybrid locomotion systems have been developed, in order to exploit the terrain adaptability of legs in rough terrain and simpler control as well as high speed associated with wheels. In this paper some design and kinematic aspects as well as hexapod locomotion of a small hybrid robot are presented.