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Extreme dynamic symmetry enables omnidirectional and multifunctional robots.

Jiaxun Liu¹, Boxi Xia¹, Boyuan Chen^1,2,3

¹Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.

Science Robotics

|May 27, 2026

Summary

Designing robots with dynamic symmetry, the uniformity of attainable center-of-mass accelerations, enhances performance. This approach improves trajectory tracking, task success, and robustness in robots, paving the way for more capable machines.

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Area of Science:

Robotics
Mechanical Engineering
Dynamical Systems

Background:

Symmetry is a fundamental principle in nature, often applied to robot morphology.
Previous applications of symmetry in robotics have primarily focused on geometric form.
Leveraging symmetry in dynamic actuation capabilities remains an underexplored area.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce and formalize the concept of dynamic symmetry in robotics.
To investigate the impact of dynamic symmetry on robot performance metrics.
To develop and test robots specifically designed to exploit high levels of dynamic symmetry.

Main Methods:

Introduced "dynamic symmetry" and "dynamic isotropy" as measures of uniform center-of-mass accelerations.
Simulated over 1000 morphologies to correlate dynamic symmetry with performance.
Developed the Argus family of spherical robots with radially oriented actuators to systematically study dynamic symmetry.

Main Results:

Higher dynamic symmetry consistently improved trajectory tracking, task success, robustness, resiliency, and energy efficiency in simulations.
The Argus robots demonstrated orientation-invariant locomotion, agile traversal, rapid self-stabilization, and resilience to actuator failures.
Near-extreme dynamic isotropy in a physical robot enabled versatile locomotion and interaction capabilities.

Conclusions:

Dynamic symmetry is a powerful design principle for enhancing robot agility, robustness, and multifunctionality.
Designing robots with symmetry in both form and dynamics offers a general pathway to improved performance.
This approach is crucial for developing robots capable of operating in uncertain terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments.