Enhancing the Vertical Mobility of a Robot Hexapod Using Microspines
Modern climbing robots have risen to great heights, but mechanisms meant to scale cliffs often locomote slowly and over-cautiously on level ground. Here we introduce T-RHex, an iteration on the classic cockroach-inspired hexapod that has been augmented with microspine feet for climbing. T-RHex is a...
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Main Authors | , , , , |
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Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
11.06.2019
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Modern climbing robots have risen to great heights, but mechanisms meant to
scale cliffs often locomote slowly and over-cautiously on level ground. Here we
introduce T-RHex, an iteration on the classic cockroach-inspired hexapod that
has been augmented with microspine feet for climbing. T-RHex is a mechanically
intelligent platform capable of efficient locomotion on ground with added
climbing abilities. The legs integrate the compliance required for the
microspines with the compliance required for locomotion in order to simplify
the design and reduce mass. The microspine fabrication is simplified by
embedding the spines during an additive manufacturing process. We present
results that show that the addition of microspines to the T-RHex platform
greatly increases the maximum slope that the robot is able to statically hang
on (up to a 45 degree overhang) and ascend (up to 55 degrees) without
sacrificing ground mobility. |
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DOI: | 10.48550/arxiv.1906.04811 |