Design of a three-legged reconfigurable spherical shape robot

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel mechanical design of a three-legged reconfigurable robot. In its dormant form, the robot is packed into a spherical shape for minimum storage volume. At deployment, the robot can be transformed into a mobile form of two interconnected hemispheres with three legs, each equipped with an omni-directional wheel. Feasibility of the transformation process was analyzed using a dynamic simulation in MSC.ADAMS. The construction of the robot has been completed up to the deployment of three legs, the lifting of the robot body, and the movement of omni-directional wheels. The deployment of robot legs is controlled using feedback control on five dsPIC30F2010 boards. The torque measurements of the transformation process are in good agreement with the results of corresponding dynamic simulation.