Realization of Jumping Behavior of Walking Robot with Spherical Shell

(Study of Takeoff Posture and Gait)

Abstract

When using robots to investigate a disaster site after an earthquake, the act of carrying robots into the workplace is dangerous for the rescuer and may result in a second accident. If robots can be thrown into the workplace, operators will be safe and the job made easier. We have been researching and developing our legged robots "QRoSS" series, which are transformable robots with a spherical outer shell to absorb the external shock of landing. The purpose of this study is the development of QRoSS III, which can get over obstacles by jumping. It performs two takeoff postures and two static gaits using three legs and its shell. This paper reports concepts and the design of QRoSS III and discusses experimental results: takeoff postures, gait locomotion and a series of the jumping motions.