Robots still struggle to dynamically traverse complex 3-D terrain with many large obstacles, an ability required for many critical applications. Body-obstacle interaction is often inevitable and induces perturbation and uncertainty in motion that challenges closed-form dynamic modeling. Here, inspired by recent discovery of a terradynamic streamlined shape, we studied how two body shapes interacting with obstacles affect turning and pitching motions of an open-loop multi-legged robot and cockroaches during dynamic locomotion. With a common cuboidal body, the robot was attracted towards obstacles, resulting in pitching up and flipping-over. By contrast, with an elliptical body, the robot was repelled by obstacles and readily traversed. The animal displayed qualitatively similar turning and pitching motions induced by these two body shapes. However, unlike the cuboidal robot, the cuboidal animal was capable of escaping obstacle attraction and subsequent high pitching and flipping over, which inspired us to develop an empirical pitch-and-turn strategy for cuboidal robots. Considering the similarity of our self-propelled body-obstacle interaction with part-feeder interaction in robotic part manipulation, we developed a quasi-static potential energy landscape model to explain the dependence of dynamic locomotion on body shape. Our experimental and modeling results also demonstrated that obstacle attraction or repulsion is an inherent property of locomotor body shape and insensitive to obstacle geometry and size. Our study expanded the concept and usefulness of terradynamic shapes for passive control of robot locomotion to traverse large obstacles using physical interaction. Our study is also a step in establishing an energy landscape approach to locomotor transitions.
翻译:机器人仍然挣扎于动态的三维复杂地形中, 有许多巨大的障碍。 身体触动性互动往往是不可避免的, 并引发了触动性和不确定性, 挑战闭式动态模型。 这里, 受最近发现的田地动力简化形状的启发, 我们研究了两个身体与障碍相互作用如何影响开路多腿的机器人和蟑螂在动态旋转期间的旋转和倾斜运动。 由于一个共同的拥抱性身体, 机器人被吸引到障碍上, 导致许多关键应用程序的翻转。 相反, 机体- 腐蚀性互动往往不可避免, 并引发触动性和不确定性, 从而挑战闭塞式动态的模型和变形体。 动物在质量上表现出相似的转动和推动性运动, 然而, 与木质机器人不同的是, 孵化动物能够摆脱障碍吸引, 并随后高的投放和翻转, 激励我们为烹饪机器人制定经验化的倾斜和翻转策略。 考虑到我们自我推进的机体- 机体- 机体- 机体- 机体- 机体- 机体- 和机体- 机体- 机体- 机体- 机体- 机体- 机体- 结构- 结构- 机体- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 机变变变变变, 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 机变变, 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 结构- 和机变变变变变变变变变变变变变变变