Thruster-Assisted Incline Walking

TL;DR

This paper explores thruster-assisted steep slope walking for a quadrupedal robot, using simulation to evaluate a novel control approach inspired by bird wing-assisted incline running, incorporating posture and thrust vectoring.

Contribution

It introduces a new thruster-assisted locomotion technique with posture manipulation and thrust vectoring, modeled and optimized through simulation for quadrupedal robots.

Findings

Feasibility demonstrated through simulation

Control approach suitable for hardware implementation

Inspiration from bird wing-assisted incline running

Abstract

In this study, our aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of thruster-assisted steep slope walking for the Husky Carbon, a quadrupedal robot equipped with custom-designed actuators and plural electric ducted fans, through simulation prior to conducting experimental trials. Thruster-assisted steep slope walking draws inspiration from wing-assisted incline running (WAIR) observed in birds, and intriguingly incorporates posture manipulation and thrust vectoring, a locomotion technique not previously explored in the animal kingdom. Our approach involves developing a reduced-order model of the Husky robot, followed by the application of an optimization-based controller utilizing collocation methods and dynamics interpolation to determine control actions. Through simulation testing, we demonstrate the feasibility of hardware implementation of our controller.