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Author
Date
2019Type
- Master Thesis
ETH Bibliography
yes
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Abstract
Legged robots have demonstrated how versatile all-terrain robot locomotion can be. Coupling this with other capabilities such as running at high speeds, carrying heavy payloads or any other general ones, make them appealing for outdoor applications. The typical design approach used to develop the legs of these robots has been actuator-centric. While this approach has worked well for general-purpose legged robots as seen from their promising performance in outdoor applications, it may not necessarily be the case for specialized robots. This is because such a straightforward design approach may not uncover the design intricacies required to facilitate their specific requirements in order to achieve high performance. Hence, this calls for an alternative design approach. This master thesis studies the question of what it means to design a specialized robotic leg holistically. It begins with the exploration of leg designs meant for two different specialized robots: one for high-speed applications and the other to carry heavy payloads. The legs of various animals and that of previous robotic works were first examined to gain inspiration and insights. Design concepts based on these were then drawn up. Eventually, only a single leg concept intended for heavy payload applications was pursued. This design concept was subsequently developed using a thorough design framework. This holistic design approach eventually led to a leg design intended for a centaur-like heavy payload quadrupedal robot which is deployable in construction-related scenarios. The finalized leg design uses an average of 24.5% less total joint torque for a walking task as compared to a naively designed one. The high-performance leg design encapsulates the critical ideas explored as well as serves as a proof of concept of the proposed design approach. Show more
Permanent link
https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000373460Publication status
publishedPublisher
ETH ZurichOrganisational unit
09570 - Hutter, Marco / Hutter, Marco
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ETH Bibliography
yes
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