Hybrid Wheel-Leg Locomotion in Rough Terrain
Abstract
This paper introduces a novel locomotion strategy of combining wheeled and legged actuation in a parallel structure. This enables the robot to traverse rough terrains using the articulated limbs and use wheeled locomotion for more efficient traversal over smooth terrains. Authors present a prototype robot architecture to embody the concept and show experimentally the robot traversing a variety of indoor and outdoor terrains. Additionally, a novel butterfly gait is introduced for the robot that enables stable and efficient traversal of challenging terrains.