Design and Kinematic Aspects of a Hybrid Locomotion Robot

Abstract

Comparing to wheeled robots, legged ones are more flexible and mobile on difficult terrain, where wheeled robots cannot go. Wheels excel on flat surfaces or specially prepared surfaces, where wheeled robots are faster than legged machines. Also, wheeled platforms have simpler mechanical architecture and control algorithms. But they do not perform well when terrain is uneven, which is the case in real life, legged robots becoming more interesting to research and explore. Hybrid locomotion systems were developed to exploit the terrain adaptability of legs in rough terrain and simpler control as well as high speed associated with wheels. In this paper some information about the mechanical design and kinematics of a small hybrid locomotion robot are presented.