• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.457-463
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• 2009

In this paper, a novel foot force distribution algorithm for hexapod walking robots is presented. The considered hexapod robot has fault-tolerant tripod gaits with a failed leg in locked-joint failure. The principle of the proposed algorithm is to minimize the slippage of the leg that determines the stability margin of the fault-tolerant gaits. The fault-tolerant tripod gait has a drawback that it has less stability margin than normal gaits. Considering this drawback, we use the feature that there are always three supporting legs, and by incorporating the theory of Zero-Interaction Force, we calculate the foot forces analytically without resort to any optimization technique. In a case study, the proposed algorithm is compared with a conventional foot force distribution method and its applicability is demonstrated.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SC
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• v.43 no.3 s.309
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• pp.16-24
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• 2006

In this paper, fault-tolerant gait planning of a hexapod robot for walking over irregular terrain is presented. The failure concerned in this paper is a locked joint failure for which a joint in a leg cannot move and is locked in place. Based on the previously proposed fault-tolerant tripod gait for walking over even terrain, fault-tolerant follow-the-leader(FTL) gaits are proposed for a hexapod robot with a failed leg to be able to walk over two-dimensional rough terrain, maintaining static stability and fault tolerance. The proposed FTL gait can have maximum stride length for a given foot position of a failed leg, and yields better ditch crossing ability than the previously developed gaits. The applicability of the proposed FTL gait is verified by using computer graphics simulations.