脚と胴体の協調運動を生み出すトカゲ様四脚歩行ロボットの実験的検証

抄録

Sprawling locomotion is a quadruped walking gait with lateral body bending used by salamanders, lizards, and crocodiles and so on. It presents an interesting example of how quadrupeds coordinate their legs and other body parts such as the trunk, head, and tail for adaptive locomotion, i.e., an interesting example of body–limb coordination. A better understanding of this body–limb coordination mechanism can provide informative insights into animal locomotion control and into the improvement of the legged robot mobility. Previously, we demonstrated that sensory feedback facilitates body–limb coordination in sprawling locomotion using a decentralized control with cross-coupled sensory feedback between the legs and the trunk. In this proceeding, we conducted the experimental validation of the proposed control using a developed quadruped robot. The resulting gait showed stable sprawling locomotion and presented the usefulness of sensory feedback for body–limb coordination, even in the real world.