Power Consumption Comparison Between Mammal-Type and Reptile-Type Multi-Legged Robots During Static Walking

Abstract

The leg configurations of multi-legged robots are classified into mammal-type and reptile-type. However, few studies have quantitatively compared the two leg configurations. We compared the power consumed during static walking when the parameters of walking, such as body height and foot trajectory, are changed. These parameters were not investigated in previous studies. In addition, we compared the power consumption when the robots walked sideways and diagonally. The analysis results showed that regardless of the direction in which the robot walked, the reptile-type configuration is able to maintain low power consumption over a wide range of foot positions. Furthermore, the reptile-type configuration can reduce the power consumption by lowering the body height, which simultaneously achieves improved stability and a wider range of foot positions. We also found that, by increasing the reduction ratio of the second joint from the body, the reptile-type configuration can reduce the power consumption without significantly reducing the maximum walking speed. These results indicate that the reptile-type configuration is superior to the mammal-type configuration in terms of the power consumption during static walking. The results of this research would be meaningful for applications requiring stable walking even at low speed.