Sensor-based walking on rough terrain for legged robots

Abstract

A simple sensor-based walking on rough terrains for legged robots using an acceleration sensor attached to the body is described. The algorithm is implemented to a developed proto-type robot with limb mechanism, which has six limbs that can be used for both locomotion and manipulation. The six limbs are arranged on the body radially to have uniform property in all directions. This symmetrical structure allows the robot to generate a gait trajectory for omnidirectional locomotion in a simple manner. The trajectory of the sensorbased walking is obtained by a small conversion of this simple trajectory. The proto-type robot walks on the uneven ground while adjusting the pose of the body to keep high stability margin. Finally, adequate footholds of supporting limbs are examined for manipulation tasks by two neighboring limbs of the robot. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006.