Wheeled Bipedal Robot

Boxell, Brian

Student Work

Wheeled Bipedal Robot

Public Deposited

Mobile robotics is a growing field that focuses on developing platforms that can move throughout an environment to accomplish several tasks. Traditionally, mobile robotics consists of a payload attached to a wheeled base, like what can be seen on anything from iRobot’s Roomba robotic vacuum to NASA’s Mars Rovers. However, wheeled robots are largely restricted to smooth and flat surfaces. In many cases, it is useful for robots to be able to climb obstacles like stairs or jump up to higher elevations to improve their mobility. Recently, there has been a push to recreate the adaptability of humans and animals’ legs to make a robot that can truly go anywhere we can. Robots like Boston Dynamics’ Spot and Atlas, Agility Robotics’ Digit, and the hundreds of quadruped robots across the world push the boundaries of where robots can go. The limitless applications of legged robotics make them extremely attractive for working alongside humans since, in theory, there is no obstacle that we could traverse that they cannot. However, legged robots are incredibly inefficient in comparison to wheeled robots, and in general, complex obstacles that require legs to traverse only make up a small fraction of the total terrain that a mobile robot can expect to encounter. For example, if a robot is attempting to navigate a warehouse, it will likely spend most of its time driving around a smooth floor and only occasionally need to climb a staircase or traverse rough terrain. A legged robot would accomplish this navigation, but would not be the most efficient design. A wheeled robot would be highly efficient for traditional floor navigation, but unable to traverse complicated obstacles. This project explores the effectiveness of combining wheels and legs to create a highly robust mobile platform that can accomplish many types of locomotion as efficiently as possible.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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