Gait planning for a multi-motion mode wheel-legged hexapod robot

Abstract

In order to combine the advantages of both wheeled robot and legged robot, a multi-motion mode wheel-legged hexapod robot is designed. The robot can change motion mode to stable walking or fast skating. The design principle of the wheel-legged hexapod robot is introduced. The kinematics of swinging legs and supporting legs are analyzed independently. The tripod gait of the robot for walking is planned. Foot trajectory based on sine function during swing phase is planned. The gait of the robot for skating is planned. The foot trajectory for skating is optimized in order to reach the maximum constant velocity. We complete the simulation of the wheel-legged hexapod robot using Gazebo virtual world based on Robot Operating System (ROS). The walking gait and the skating gait are realized on the simulation platform. The simulation results show that the joint angle curves are smooth, and there is no conflict between the six legs. The walking gait and the skating gait are tested on the wheel-legged hexapod robot. The experimental results show that the robot can walk stably and skate fast.