Locomotion

 

Robot Locomotion

Locomotion is the method of moving from one place to another. The mechanism that makes a robot capable of moving in its environment is called as robot locomotion.

There are many types of locomotion's:-

• Wheeled
• Legged
• Tracked slip/skid
• Combination of legged and wheeled locomotion

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Legged locomotion

• It comes up with the variety of one, two, four, and six legs. If a robot has multiple legs then leg coordination is required for locomotion.
• Legged locomotion consumes more power while demonstrating jump, hop, walk, trot, climb up or down etc.
• It requires more number of motors for accomplish a movement. It is suited for rough as well as smooth terrain where irregular or too smooth surface makes it consume more operational power. It is little difficult to implement because of stability issues.

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Wheeled Locomotion

It requires less number of motors for accomplishing a movement. It is little easy to implement as there are lesser stability issues in case of more number of wheels. It is more power efficient as compared to legged locomotion.

• Castor wheel - It rotates around the offset steering joint and wheel axle.
• Standard wheel - It rotates around the contact and the wheel axle.

Slip/Skid Locomotion

In Slip/Skid locomotion the vehicles use tracks as available in a tank. The robot is steered by moving tracks with different speeds in the same or opposite direction. It offers stability because of large contact area of ground and track.