In swarm robotics, we want each robot to be as small and simple as possible. Small-size robots, however, often suffer from limited locomotion capabilities. Small wheels would not work in uneven, rough terrains. Legged robots exhibit greater flexibilities and agility, but hard to control and mechanically more complex to realize in a small compact form. The presented passive wheel-leg transformable mechanism aims to realize the advantages of both wheeled and legged locomotion without adding additional structural or control complexities.
Building on the WheeLeR design and the proof-of-concept prototype, we are currently working on physical scale-up of this mechanism for developing fully equipped UGVs (called α-WaLTR) with versatile locomotion capabilities. To read more about this project, please read our recent post.
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
- C. Zheng and K. Lee, Passive Geared Wheel-Leg Transformable Mechanism and Robot Embodiment. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Montreal, Canada, May 20-24, 2019