Design improvements and control of a hybrid walking robot

In this paper design improvements and control algorithms are presented for a 2-DOF (Degree-Of-Freedom) hybrid leg-wheel walking machine. A prototype of a low-cost robot, which is capable of straight walking and steering with only two actuators, has been designed and built at LARM: Laboratory of Robotics and Mechatronics in Cassino. A control system has been developed in order to control the robot’s operation and to improve the prototype’s behavior. The designed control system and simulation results have been reported to show the operation of the prototype.

Research highlights► A 2-DOF hybrid leg-wheel walking machine is presented. ► It can perform straight walking and steering with only two actuators. ► The design of a control system for the hybrid walking robot is proposed. ► The navigation problem is solved by developing an algorithm for a choice of a route.