Bipedal Vehicle Leg Control for Rough Terrain Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing land vehicles, particularly wheeled and tracked vehicles, struggle with navigating rough terrain effectively, and there is a need for improved mobility and stability in such environments.
Innovation Solution
A bipedal vehicle design featuring extendible output legs with powered actuators and a control system that includes knee and hip sub-systems for controlled movement, providing position and force-feedback mechanisms to enhance stability and mobility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If wheeled or tracked vehicles are used for rough terrain, then they have limited adaptability to different terrains, but they maintain simpler structure and easier operation
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle employs dynamically adjustable bipedal legs with extendible segments and articulated joints that can adapt their configuration to different terrain conditions. The legs transition between extended and retracted states, and adjust their articulation angles to navigate rough terrain effectively, providing high adaptability while maintaining a relatively compact structure when not in use.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle's support structure is divided into multiple segmented legs with distinct segments (thigh, shin, foot portions) that can move independently. This segmentation allows each leg to adapt to terrain variations while maintaining overall vehicle stability, and the segmented design enables compact storage when the legs are retracted.
2Adaptability or versatility
If quadruped or multi-legged mechanisms are used for rough terrain, then they improve terrain adaptability, but they increase device complexity and operational difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle incorporates feedback mechanisms including position sensors on the input and output legs, and force sensors that provide real-time information to the control system. This feedback enables the control system to adjust leg movements dynamically, maintaining balance and adapting to terrain changes without requiring complex manual control, thereby reducing operational difficulty.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system operates autonomously using feedback from sensors to self-adjust the leg positions and movements. The system self-corrects balance deviations and terrain adaptations without operator intervention, eliminating the operational complexity experienced by operators of manually controlled multi-legged vehicles.
3Adaptability or versatility
If extendible output legs with powered actuators are used, then mobility and stability on rough terrain are enhanced, but weight and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle extracts only the essential powered actuation components needed for leg extension and articulation, rather than fully powered joints throughout. The actuators are strategically placed to provide necessary movement while minimizing weight, and non-essential components are omitted to reduce overall vehicle weight while maintaining rough terrain mobility.
4Measurement precision
If position and force-feedback mechanisms are implemented, then control precision and stability are improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The feedback mechanisms serve multiple functions: position sensors provide both location information for control and data for balance maintenance, while force sensors simultaneously measure ground reaction forces and provide stability information. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized sensors, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while maintaining high measurement precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A bipedal vehicle 1 comprising two extendible output legs 5L, 5R (to support the vehicle), two foot holds 59L, 59R (to accept input movement from an operator) and a control system 253 comprising powered actuators to move the output legs in relation to the input movement to produce output movement.