ReQuBiS -- Reconfigurable Quadrupedal-Bipedal Snake Robots

TL;DR

ReQuBiS is a novel reconfigurable robot that seamlessly switches between snake, quadruped, and biped modes without module rearrangement, enabling versatile navigation and task execution in various environments.

Contribution

It introduces a single-mechanism reconfigurable design allowing mode transitions and parallel operation, reducing complexity and SWaP compared to existing reconfigurable robots.

Findings

Successfully demonstrated mode transitions between snake, quadruped, and biped.

Enabled parallel operation by splitting into two agents.

Validated mobility capabilities through experimental tests.

Abstract

The selection of mobility modes for robot navigation consists of various trade-offs. Snake robots are ideal for traversing through constrained environments such as pipes, cluttered and rough terrain, whereas bipedal robots are more suited for structured environments such as stairs. Finally, quadruped robots are more stable than bipeds and can carry larger payloads than snakes and bipeds but struggle to navigate soft soil, sand, ice, and constrained environments. A reconfigurable robot can achieve the best of all worlds. Unfortunately, state-of-the-art reconfigurable robots rely on the rearrangement of modules through complicated mechanisms to dissemble and assemble at different places, increasing the size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements. We propose Reconfigurable Quadrupedal-Bipedal Snake Robots (ReQuBiS), which can transform between mobility modes without rearranging modules. Hence, requiring just a single modification mechanism. Furthermore, our design allows the robot to split into two agents to perform tasks in parallel for biped and snake mobility. Experimental results demonstrate these mobility capabilities in snake, quadruped, and biped modes and transitions between them.