Adaptive Gait for Large Rough Terrain of a Leg-wheel Robot (1st Report, Gait Strategy)

摘要

A leg-wheel robot has mechanically separated four legs and two wheels, and it performs high mobility and stability on rough terrains. In this paper, the strategy for the leg-wheel robot moving over large rough terrains is described. First, topographical features are classified for the large rough terrain movement. They are classified into 13 patterns by the combination of terrain surfaces. In order to move over all classified terrains, three gaits are proposed as adaptive gait for large rough terrain. Those three gaits are as follows : 1. Gait for an upward step : the forefoot landing point is higher than contact points with the ground of wheels, and the robot raises the body toward the forefoot landing point. 2. Gait for a downward step : the forefoot landing point is lower than contact points with the ground of wheels, and the robot lowers the body toward the forefoot landing point. 3. Gait for getting over an obstacle : the forefoot landing point is not higher than contact points with the ground of wheels, but the robot raises the body as high as possible.