Analysis and Experiment of a Bioinspired Multimode Octopod Robot

Abstract Legged robots use isolated footholds to support, which have the merit of good terrain trafficability but lack speed ability. In contrast, wheeled robots have the advantages of high speed and efficiency but only run on flat roads. To improve the moving speed and terrain adaptability of the legged robot, this paper proposes a bioinspired multimode octopod robot with rolling, walking, and obstacle-surmounting modes. First, inspired by the multimode locomotion of the Cebrennus rechenbergi spider, the high-speed mobility of the legged robot is realized in involute kick-rolling mode through the extendable appendages. Then, the foot and appendage trajectories are analyzed by kinematic method and optimized for walking stability. Based on the static and the kinematic analyses, the terrain adaptability is improved by adhesive obstacle-surmounting mode with the assistance of the appendages affiliated to the main feet. The deformable trunk with one DoF is designed to switch between three modes. Finally, a series of dynamic simulations and experiments are carried out to verify the theoretical analyses of the adhesive obstacle-surmounting mode and the mobility of the involute kick-rolling mode. It is shown that the multimode octopod robot can integrate the advantages of high speed and good terrain trafficability from different types of robots and is suitable for performing tasks in unstructured terrains.