Planar motion hexapod walking machines: a new configuration

The present paper develops a new configuration for walking machines which is in a way an hybrid between rigid-frames and zoomorphic walkers. It hopefully shares the advantages of both: the complexity is only marginally higher than that of rigid-frames walkers, while the performances may be similar to those of the more complex machines. The legs are essentially made of linear actuators moving in the vertical direction, like in rigid-frames machines. They are carried at the end of pantograph mechanisms which allows the feet to move along a straight line parallel to the longitudinal axis of the machine. The total number of degrees of freedom goes from 8 in the simplest form to 13 in the most complex one. The paper describes the layout of the machine, with particular reference to a small prototype for planetary exploration or other applications like archaeological survey or humanitarian demining.