Legged Mobile Platform Variable Rotation Speed for Uneven Terrain
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing robotic vehicles with legs struggle to maintain stability and even terrain traversal on uneven surfaces, as they lack efficient mechanisms for adaptive leg rotation and ground contact management.
Innovation Solution
A mobile platform with leg arrangements that include 360-degree rotating legs, actuated by processors to follow stored algorithms, ensuring non-uniform rotation speeds and flexibility, with sensors to manage ground contact and maintain constant horizontal speed, allowing for stable ambulation over uneven terrain.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If legs rotate at uniform speed, then the control system is simple, but the vehicle cannot maintain stable contact with uneven terrain
Solution Approach 1:
The leg rotation speed is made variable rather than uniform. The processor dynamically adjusts the rotation speed of each leg based on terrain conditions and contact status, allowing the system to adapt to uneven surfaces while maintaining at least one leg in contact with the ground at all times.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensor feedback from ground contact detection to control leg rotation. The processor receives information about which legs are contacting the ground and adjusts rotation speeds accordingly, creating a closed-loop control system that maintains stable terrain traversal.
2Productivity
If leg rotation speed is increased, then productivity is improved, but stability on uneven terrain deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts leg rotation speeds based on operational needs and terrain conditions. During straight-line traversal, legs rotate faster to maintain productivity, while during terrain adaptation, speeds are modulated to ensure stable contact. The processor coordinates these variable speeds across multiple legs to maintain both speed and stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The leg rotation follows a periodic gait pattern where legs are alternately accelerated and decelerated in a coordinated sequence. This periodic action allows the vehicle to maintain average forward speed while creating the necessary speed variations for stable ground contact during each rotation cycle.
3Reliability
If multiple legs are used, then stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple legs are combined in a coordinated arrangement where they work together as an integrated system. The processor controls all legs simultaneously with coordinated rotation algorithms, merging their individual functions into a unified stability mechanism that supports the vehicle body on uneven terrain.
Solution Approach 2:
Each leg serves multiple functions: supporting vehicle weight, detecting ground contact through sensors, providing propulsion through rotation, and adapting to terrain variations. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized components, managing complexity while maintaining stability.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile platform intended for civilian, industrial, research or other use. An ambulation system or mobile platform such as for traveling over uneven terrain includes one or more leg arrangements attached to a main body or chassis. In an embodiment, a leg arrangement comprises one or more legs, such as legs that rotate in the same and singular direction around their respective rotary joints when the vehicle is moving in a single direction. The rotational axis for both legs is located near each other and preferably coaxially and allows ground contact of two or more legs at all times.