Optimization of gait parameters for energy efficiency improvement of farmland robot based on orthogonal experiment design

Abstract

In order to improve the energy efficiency of legged robots while walking on farmland, a simulation system of legged robot on farmland soil was put forward in this paper. Firstly, the finite element model of the interaction between the robot leg and the farmland soil was established, and the multi-body dynamics and the foot-ground interaction simulation were carried out in one gait cycle. Secondly, the orthogonal experiment with four factors was established to analyze the external energy required for the robot leg to walk in the soil. Then the range analysis and variance analysis of the results were carried out to optimize the energy consumption ratio. The influence of the four factors on the experimental results and the optimal gait parameters and foot structure were obtained subsequently. Finally, the no-load walking experiment in the selfdeveloped soil-bin test-bed was carried out with the optimal gait and foot structure. The results demonstrate that the successive order of factors affecting the energy consumption ratio is foot structure, stride length, gait cycle time and stride height. The process of penetrating the soil consumes the most energy in a gait cycle. The optimization design of the foot structure and the penetration process is helpful to reduce the energy consumption of the farmland robot.