A Force-Sensing System on Legs for Biomimetic Hexapod Robots Interacting with Unstructured Terrain

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Biomimetics
• Sensor Technology

Background:

• Tiger beetles maintain stability on unstructured terrain by controlling leg interaction forces.
• Biomimetic hexapod robots can mimic this capability for enhanced mobility.
• Understanding terrain interaction forces is crucial for robotic locomotion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement a comprehensive leg force sensing system for a hexapod robot.
• To enable the robot to sense and interpret forces during locomotion on unstructured terrain.
• To verify the performance of the developed force sensing system.

Main Methods:

• Designed a leg force sensing system with joint torque sensors and a 3-DOF foot-end force sensor.
• Developed a force information processing module.
• Integrated the sensing system into the robot's control architecture.
• Validated sensor performance through simulations and experiments.

Main Results:

• A functional leg force sensing system was successfully implemented on the hexapod robot.
• The system demonstrated the capability to provide crucial force information.
• Experimental evaluations verified the performance and reliability of the leg force sensor system.

Conclusions:

• The developed force sensing system enhances a hexapod robot's understanding of unstructured terrain.
• This biomimetic approach improves robotic stability and locomotion capabilities.
• The system provides a foundation for more advanced terrain-adaptive robotic systems.