Design, Implementation and Control of an Amphibious Spherical Robot

We proposed and implemented a leg-vector water-jet actuated spherical robot and an underwater adaptive motion control system so that the proposed robot could perform exploration tasks in complex environments. Our aim was to improve the kinematic performance of spherical robots. We developed mechanic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of bionics engineering Vol. 19; no. 6; pp. 1736 - 1757
Main Authors: Shi, Liwei, Zhang, Zhongyin, Li, Zhengyu, Guo, Shuxiang, Pan, Shaowu, Bao, Pengxiao, Duan, Lijie
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Singapore Springer Nature Singapore 01.11.2022
Subjects:
Artificial Intelligence
Biochemical Engineering
Bioinformatics
Biomaterials
Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering
Biomedical Engineering/Biotechnology
Engineering
Research Article
Generalized prediction control
Bionic amphibious spherical robot
Inertial measurement unit
Forgetting factor least squares algorithm
Quadruped gaits
ISSN:1672-6529, 2543-2141
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:We proposed and implemented a leg-vector water-jet actuated spherical robot and an underwater adaptive motion control system so that the proposed robot could perform exploration tasks in complex environments. Our aim was to improve the kinematic performance of spherical robots. We developed mechanical and dynamic models so that we could analyze the motions of the robot on land and in water. The robot was equipped with an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) that provided inclination and motion information. We designed three types of walking gait for the robot, with different stabilities and speeds. Furthermore, we proposed an online adjustment mechanism to adjust the gaits so that the robot could climb up slopes in a stable manner. As the system function changed continuously as the robot moved underwater, we implemented an online motion recognition system with a forgetting factor least squares algorithm. We proposed a generalized prediction control algorithm to achieve robust underwater motion control. To ensure real-time performance and reduce power consumption, the robot motion control system was implemented on a Zynq-7000 System-on-Chip (SoC). Our experimental results show that the robot’s motion remains stable at different speeds in a variety of amphibious environments, which meets the requirements for applications in a range of terrains.
ISSN:1672-6529
2543-2141
DOI:10.1007/s42235-022-00229-6