Ground Contact Assembly for Legged Robot Stability on Uneven Terrain
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing legged robots struggle to traverse real-world, non-uniform terrain while maintaining stability and balance due to limited flexibility and range of motion in their foot and leg configurations, which are crucial for adapting to uneven surfaces.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a robot leg configuration with a ground contacting assembly featuring a first element and connecting rods, allowing for a wide range of motion in the coronal plane through angled connectors oriented at specific angles, enabling improved abduction and adduction, thereby enhancing stability and adaptability to varied terrains.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the ground contacting assembly uses a rigid structure for weight bearing, then structural strength is improved, but adaptability to non-uniform terrain deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The ground contacting assembly is divided into multiple segments including a foot element, connecting rods, and an angled connector, allowing each segment to contribute to both structural strength and terrain adaptability through controlled movement relative to other segments
Solution Approach 2:
The assembly transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic system with controlled degrees of freedom, where the angled connector enables coronal plane rotation and connecting rods allow pitch plane movement, providing adaptability while maintaining weight bearing capability
2Device complexity
If the ground contacting assembly has limited range of motion, then structural simplicity is improved, but stability on uneven terrain deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The assembly incorporates controlled dynamic movement through the angled connector and connecting rods, enabling the foot to adapt its orientation to uneven terrain while maintaining overall structural simplicity through a limited number of well-defined degrees of freedom
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes its operational parameters by allowing rotation in the coronal plane and pitch adjustments, enabling the same simple structure to achieve stability across varying terrain conditions through parameter variation rather than structural complexity
3Device complexity
If the robot leg has limited abduction and adduction capability, then mechanical simplicity is improved, but balance and stability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The angled connector introduces dynamic rotation capability in the coronal plane, enabling abduction and adduction movements that enhance balance and stability while maintaining mechanical simplicity through a single rotational degree of freedom rather than complex multi-axial mechanisms
Data Source
AI summary
A robot has a body and at least two legs extending from the robot body, each leg comprising a plurality of links that are rotatably connected. A ground contacting assembly is rotatably connected to the distal link of each leg. The ground contacting assembly is configured to provide an increase in roll range of motion and to facilitate abduction and adduction of the leg for traversing terrain.