Insect-inspired, actively compliant hexapod capable of object manipulation.pdfVIP

Insect-Inspired, Actively Compliant Hexapod Capable of Object Manipulation William A. Lewinger1, Michael S. Branicky2, and Roger D. Quinn3 1Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA, wal4@ 2Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA, msb11@ 3Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA, rdq@ Abstract Insects, in general, are agile creatures capable of navigating uneven and difficult terrain with ease. The leaf-cutter ants (Atta), specifically, are agile, social insects capable of navigating uneven and difficult terrain, manipulating objects in their environment, broadcasting messages to other leaf-cutter ants, performing collective tasks, and operating in cooperative manners with others of their kind [9][12]. These traits are desirable in a mobile robot. However, no robots have been developed that encompass all of these capabilities. As such, this research developed the Biologically-Inspired Legged-Locomotion Ant prototype (BILL-ANT-p) to fill the void. This paper discusses the features, development, and implementation of the BILL-Ant-p robot, quantifies its capabilities for use as a compliant mobile platform that is capable of object manipulation. The goal of this research [10] was to develop a robot that is power and control autonomous; capable of navigating uneven terrain, manipulating objects within the environment, and active compliance with the environment; very strong for its size; and relatively inexpensive compared to other similar robots. An investigation into existing hexapod robots [2] was conducted, such as Tarry I and Tarry II [4], MAX [1], Robot I [7] and Robot II [6], the TUM Walking Machine [11], the LAURON series of robots [8], and Genghis [3]. While each robot exhibited one or more of the above-mentioned traits, none wer