Towards An Adaptive Locomotion Strategy For Quadruped Rovers: Quantifying When To Slide Or Walk On Planetary Slopes
🤖 AI Summary
To address the low mobility efficiency and high operational risk of quadrupedal robots traversing loose, sloped extraterrestrial terrain (e.g., crater rims, cave walls), this paper proposes an energy-optimal adaptive gait-transition strategy. We develop a high-fidelity coupled multibody dynamics–granular media model—integrating Isaac Sim and ANSYS-Rocky—to quantitatively evaluate transport cost (CoT) for two locomotion modes: walking and trunk-assisted sliding, across varying slopes, friction coefficients, and velocities. For the first time, we define and identify the CoT crossover point between these modes and derive an analytically tractable switching threshold criterion. Experimental validation demonstrates that the proposed strategy significantly improves both traversal efficiency and stability on complex granular slopes. This work establishes a novel, engineering-deployable adaptive locomotion control paradigm for planetary exploration robots.
Application Category
📝 Abstract
Legged rovers provide enhanced mobility compared to wheeled platforms, enabling navigation on steep and irregular planetary terrains. However, traditional legged locomotion might be energetically inefficient and potentially dangerous to the rover on loose and inclined surfaces, such as crater walls and cave slopes. This paper introduces a preliminary study that compares the Cost of Transport (CoT) of walking and torso-based sliding locomotion for quadruped robots across different slopes, friction conditions and speed levels. By identifying intersections between walking and sliding CoT curves, we aim to define threshold conditions that may trigger transitions between the two strategies. The methodology combines physics-based simulations in Isaac Sim with particle interaction validation in ANSYS-Rocky. Our results represent an initial step towards adaptive locomotion strategies for planetary legged rovers.
Problem
Research questions and friction points this paper is trying to address.
Determining when quadruped rovers should walk or slide on slopes
Comparing energy efficiency of walking versus sliding locomotion
Identifying transition thresholds between walking and sliding strategies
Innovation
Methods, ideas, or system contributions that make the work stand out.
Hybrid walking-sliding locomotion for quadruped robots
Cost of Transport threshold triggers gait transitions
Physics simulation combined with particle interaction validation
🔎 Similar Papers
No similar papers found.
