Authors:

Zihan O Zeng

Date Created:

Not specified

Course Title:

Professor:

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About Paper:

Legged robots often struggle to move effectively across varied and unpredictable terrains, such as mud, sand, and steep slopes. To address this, we have developed a novel robotic foot that uses pneumatically- actuated astructures to adapt its shape dynamically. By adjusting its shape, the foot can modulate contact forces to control how it interacts with different surfaces, enhancing stability, efficiency, and maneuverability. Our tests show that this innovative design significantly improves locomotion by reducing the robot's sinking into sand, minimizing resistance in sticky mud, and allowing it to maintain balance on steep inclines. Compared with a geometrically matched rigid foot, the adaptive design eliminates measurable sinkage under a 10 N load by inflating to 8 cm in diameter, reduces suction forces by 84% in high- water mud and 98% in medium-water mud through shape modulation. Long-term durability testing revealed an 18% increase in relaxed balloon diameter after 100 cycles of inflation to 80%, yet the maximum load- bearing capacity remained unaffected, confirming robust and repeatable performance. Additionally, the adaptive foot enables the robot to perform unique actions such as walking on water and even executing skipping motions. Beyond just movement, this adaptive design opens new possibilities for robots to grasp and manipulate objects, broadening their potential applications in real-world environments. Keywords: Robotics; Locomotion; Terrain Interaction; Contact Force Manipulation

Source:

Purdue University / 2025

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No topics listed

Co-authors:

Zihan O Zeng