Service robots can be thought of as having two types of motion: (a) locomotion of the entire robot, which can be either legged or wheeled, and (b) motion of the manipulator limbs, e.g., object manipulation by the “hands” etc. While the first type is very specialised, in particular in the case of legged motion, the second is fairly generic and can be discussed in detail without making a very hea...

A variety of impressive approaches to legged locomotion exist; however, the science of legged robotics is still far from demonstrating a solution which performs with a level of flexibility, reliability and careful foot placement that would enable practical locomotion on the variety of rough and intermittent terrain humans negotiate with ease on a regular basis. In this thesis, we strive toward ...

This work presents a field-hardened autonomous multimodal legged-aerial robotic system for subterranean exploration, extending legged robot to be the carrier of an aerial platform capable rapid deployment in search-and-rescue scenarios. The driving force developing such configurations are requirements large-scale and long-term missions, where payload capacity long battery life is combined integ...

Recently, the development of agile-legged robots that mimic structures and functions biological muscles tendons quadruped mammals has attracted significant attention. The driving force elastic can help improve performances these robots. Thus far, most have been developed based on muscle-tendon complex lower legs. However, some a larger upper legs, which contributes significantly to agile moveme...

Due to the high power-to-weight ratio and robustness, hydraulic cylinders are widely used in actuation area of legged robot systems. Most these applications focused on motion stability, gait planning, impedance control. However, energy efficiency robotic system is also a very important point be considered. Hopping locomotion requires fast extension tibia leg at end take-off phase, which causes ...

Cutting-edge robotics is increasingly moving away from simple repetitive tasks on the factory floor and toward complex operations in unstructured natural environments. Such environments present a wide variety of challenges, particularly for conventional modes of robot locomotion: only a fraction of the earth's land surface can be traversed by wheeled vehicles. Common examples of insurmountable ...

Recent successes of missions such as the MSL and the Rosetta have increased the interest in the robotic exploration of other planets and asteroids. Although most of these missions envisage the use of rovers, legged robots have shown the potential to outperform wheeled vehicles on rough terrains in terms of speed and energy efficiency. In this paper, the x-MP controller presented in recent work,...

In this paper we present a concept and an evaluation of an ape-like robot which is quite similar to its biological model. Aim of our project LittleApe is to build a small and extreme lightweight robot that is capable of walking on two and four legs as well as of changing from a four-legged posture to a two-legged posture, manipulating small objects, and which is also able to climb. LittleApe is...

Existing legged robots lack energy-efficiency, performance and adaptivity when confronted with situations that animals cope with on a routine basis. Bridging the gap between artificial and natural systems requires not only better sensorimotor and learning capabilities but also a corresponding motion apparatus and intelligent actuators. Current actuators with online adaptable compliance pose hig...

This paper proposes a novel method of applying feedback control for legged robots, by directly modifying parameters of a robot’s gait pattern. Gaits are a popular means of producing stable locomotion for legged robots, through the use of cyclic feedforward motion patterns, while requiring little to no sensory information. We are interested in incorporating feedback with these systems, and make ...