Simple Linking of Units Gives Legged Robots New Way to Navigate Difficult Terrain скачать в хорошем качестве

Simple Linking of Units Gives Legged Robots New Way to Navigate Difficult Terrain

To begin to allow swarms to develop capabilities in such complex terrain, research performed at the Georgia Institute of Technology and published recently in Science Robotics sought to develop simple low-cost legged robots capable of linking and unlinking to accomplish task such as gap traversal, stair climbing, and object transport over uneven terrains. Working with Daniel Goldman, Dunn Family professor in the School of Physics at Georgia Tech, Yasemin Ozkan-Aydin, a former postdoc and now an assistant professor at the University of Notre Dame, developed four-legged “quadruped” robots, created using easily acquired off-the-shelf technology, each unit has a 3D-printed, two-segmented chassis and body and four flexible legs. Each unit has a “passive tail” appendage for additional balance and directional control, touch and light sensors, and a central-body-mounted microprocessor. A magnetic connector allows for docking and cooperative behaviors. Ozkan-Aydin sees the work as the starting point in the development of land-based robotics swarms with the ability to collectively cross challenging real-world tasks such as climbing hills, overcoming obstacles, and moving on rough terrain by maintaining stability in a truly autonomous fashion. “The approach of physical connections between individuals could improve the mobility of a terrestrial collective system and provides strong resilience to failures,” said Ozkan-Aydin. “Furthermore, the minimalist and modular robotic approach taken in this study can provide a low-cost platform for testing/generating new hypotheses for biological research.”