Simulation of the hexapod robot ptinto walking on irregular surfaces

Abstract

In this article we present our recent work on the simulation of a hexapod robot called PTinto. This robot is a prototype that has been designed to test the six legs locomotion system in the surrounding areas of the Tinto River (Huelva-Spain), which scientists have considered that could potentially have many similarities to the Mars surface. This kind of robots represents a great advance in the planetary research that overcomes the performance of the usual rover when operating in rocky and cumbersome areas. We are developing some of the software PTinto requires to autonomously control it and, in particular, the program that simulates its movements on any surface. Up to now we have a graphic computer program, developed in MATLAB, that represents the robot and allow us to check its movements in a lot of detail. We present in this paper all the elements and resources we use for the simulation and control of PTinto walking on irregular surfaces. Thanks to this simulation program, we could test different autonomous control strategies for the PTinto robot.