Design of a Passively-Adaptive Three Degree-of-Freedom Multi-Legged Robot With Underactuated Legs

This paper discusses the design of a three degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) non-redundant walking robot with decoupled stance and propulsion locomotion phases that is exactly constrained in stance and utilizes adaptive underactuation to robustly traverse terrain of varying ground height. Legged robots with a large number of actuated degrees of freedom can actively adapt to rough terrain but often end up being kinematically overconstrained in stance, requiring complex redundant control schemes for effective locomotion. Those with fewer actuators generally use passive compliance to enhance their dynamic behavior at the cost of postural control and reliable ground clearance, and often inextricably link control of the propulsion of the robot with control of its posture. In this paper we show that the use of adaptive underactuation techniques with constraint-based design synthesis tools allows for lighter and simpler lower mobility legged robots that can adapt to the terrain below them during the swing phase yet remain stable during stance and that the decoupling of stance and propulsion can greatly simplify their control. Simulation results of the swing phase behavior of the proposed 3-DOF decoupled adaptive legged robot as well as proof-of-concept experiments with a prototype of its corresponding stance platform are presented and validate the suggested design framework.