1. Types of locomotion
     Walking   Bipedal walking  Running  Rolling  Hopping  Metachronal motion  Slithering  Swimming  Brachiating  Hybrid 

2. Approaches

3. Notable researchers in the field

4. References

5. External links

Robot locomotion is the collective name for the various methods that robots use to transport themselves from place to place.

Wheeled robots are typically quite energy efficient and simple to control. However, other forms of locomotion may be more appropriate for a number of reasons, for example traversing rough terrain, as well as moving and interacting in human environments. Furthermore, studying bipedal and insect-like robots may beneficially impact on biomechanics.

A major goal in this field is in developing capabilities for robots to autonomously decide how, when, and where to move. However, coordinating a large number of robot joints for even simple matters, like negotiating stairs, is difficult. Autonomous robot locomotion is a major technological obstacle for many areas of robotics, such as humanoids (like Honda's Asimo).

Types of locomotion

Walking

• See Leg mechanism
• See Hexapod (robotics)

Hexapod robots are based on insect locomotion, most popularly the cockroach^[2] and stick insect, whose neurological and sensory output is less complex than other animals. Multiple legs allow several different gaits, even if a leg is damaged, making their movements more useful in robots transporting objects.

Bipedal walking

• See Passive dynamics
• See Zero Moment Point

Running

Examples:

ASIMO,

BigDog,

HUBO 2,

RunBot, and

Toyota Partner Robot.

Rolling

In terms of energy efficiency on flat surfaces, wheeled robots are the most efficient. This is because an ideal rolling (but not slipping) wheel loses no energy. A wheel rolling at a given velocity needs no input to maintain its motion. This is in contrast to legged robots which suffer an impact with the ground at heelstrike and lose energy as a result.

For simplicity most mobile robots have four wheels or a number of continuous tracks. Some researchers have tried to create more complex wheeled robots with only one or two wheels. These can have certain advantages such as greater efficiency and reduced parts, as well as allowing a robot to navigate in confined places that a four-wheeled robot would not be able to.

Examples:

Boe-Bot,

Cosmobot,

Elmer,

Elsie,

Enon,

HERO,

IRobot Create,

iRobot's Roomba,

Johns Hopkins Beast,

Land Walker,

Modulus robot,

Musa,

Omnibot,

PaPeRo,

Phobot,

Pocketdelta robot,

Push the Talking Trash Can,

RB5X,

Rovio,

Seropi,

Shakey the robot,

Sony Rolly,

Spykee,

TiLR,

Topo,

TR Araña, and

Wakamaru.

Hopping

Several robots, built in the 1980s by Marc Raibert at the MIT Leg Laboratory, successfully demonstrated very dynamic walking. Initially, a robot with only one leg, and a very small foot, could stay upright simply by hopping. The movement is the same as that of a person on a pogo stick. As the robot falls to one side, it would jump slightly in that direction, in order to catch itself.^[3] Soon, the algorithm was generalised to two and four legs. A bipedal robot was demonstrated running and even performing somersaults.^[4] A quadruped was also demonstrated which could trot, run, pace, and bound.^[5]

Examples:

• The MIT cheetah cub is an electrically powered quadruped robot with passive compliant legs capable of self-stabilizing in large range of speeds.^[6]
• The Tekken II is a small quadruped designed to walk on irregular terrains adaptively.^[7]

Metachronal motion

Coordinated, sequential mechanical action having the appearance of a traveling wave is called a metachronal rhythm or wave, and is employed in nature by ciliates for transport, and by worms and arthropods for locomotion.

Slithering

Several snake robots have been successfully developed. Mimicking the way real snakes move, these robots can navigate very confined spaces, meaning they may one day be used to search for people trapped in collapsed buildings.^[8] The Japanese ACM-R5 snake robot^[9] can even navigate both on land and in water.^[10]

Examples:

Snake-arm robot,

Roboboa, and

Snakebot.

Swimming

• See Autonomous underwater vehicles

Brachiating

Brachiation allows robots to travel by swinging, using energy only to grab and release surfaces.^[11] This motion is similar to an ape swinging from tree to tree. The two types of brachiation can be compared to bipedal walking motions (continuous contact) or running (richochetal). Continuous contact is when a hand/grasping mechanism is always attached to the surface being crossed; richochetal employs a phase of aerial "flight" from one surface/limb to the next.

Hybrid

Robots can also be designed to perform locomotion in multiple modes. For example, the Bipedal Snake Robo ^[12] can both slither like a snake and walk like a biped robot.

Approaches

• Gait engineering
• Product optimization
• Motion planning
• Motion capture may be performed on humans, insects and other organisms.
• Machine learning, typically with reinforcement learning.

Notable researchers in the field

• Rodney Brooks
• Marc Raibert
• Jessica Hodgins
• Red Whittaker

References

External links

• Robot Locomotion

• Caroline matilda of great britain
• Caroline Matilda of Wales
• Caroline McKenzie
• Caroline McMillan
• Caroline, MD
• Caroline Medina
• Caroline Meeber
• Caroline M. Hoxby
• Caroline Michaelis-Böhmer-Schlegel-Schelling
• Caroline Mikkelsen
• Caroline Miller (politician)
• Caroline Miskel Hoyt
• Caroline moore
• Caroline Moore
• Caroline Moser
• Caroline Mueller
• Caroline Muller (mezzo-soprano)
• Caroline Murat
• Caroline Müller
• Caroline Müller (opera singer)
• Caroline Neron
• Caroline Nichols
• Caroline Nicoll House
• Caroline Nokes
• Caroline Néron