Analysis and evaluation of the stability of a biologically inspired, Leg loss tolerant gait for six- and eight-legged walking robots

Abstract

This article analyzes and evaluates the stability of the biologically inspired gait of the DLR Crawler, a walking hexapod robot, with respect to leg loss. Using a kinematic simulation, ranges of velocity commands that result in stable gait coordination are determined for both cases, the undamaged robot and the robot experiencing the loss of a single leg. The results give insight how to adjust the motion commands after the loss of a leg. Further, a simplified dynamic simulation is used to analyze the effect of leg loss on the walking stability. Heuristic measures like curvature and length of the traveled path, roll and pitch angles are employed to evaluate the walking stability and performance. Some methods like shifting the COG or stiffening the variably compliant joints are proposed and discussed with respect to their ability to improve the walking performance in case of leg loss. In the end, the presented concepts are extended and for the first time applied to a simulated eight-legged robot.