R-Taichi: A Quadruped Robot with Deformed Wheels

Abstract

This paper presents the design of a quadruped robot with deformable wheels. In terms of structure, the robot successfully combines the wheel mode, RHex mode of varying heights, and leg mode with a simple link mechanism. The robot also adopts the form of motor-relative control installation to optimize energy consumption. In gait planning, we calculate forward and inverse kinematics, and design the RHex gait based on the characteristics of the deformable wheel, as well as a variety of gaits for flexible leg mode. Finally, we analyze the energy consumption and stability of each mode through experiments. The results show that the RHex mode has strong mobility and adaptability, as it can easily cross a 15cm obstacle. The wheel mode has obvious advantages in terms of energy consumption and stability. In the future, we can adapt more algorithms for leg patterns to fully take advantage of their flexibility.