This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Cham, J. G Articles by Cutkosky, M. R Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Fast and Robust: Hexapedal Robots via Shape Deposition Manufacturing

Center for Design Research, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2232, USA

Sean A Bailey

Center for Design Research, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2232, USA

Jonathan E Clark

Center for Design Research, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2232, USA

Robert J Full

Dept. Integrative Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

Mark R Cutkosky

Center for Design Research, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2232, USA

Robots to date lack the robustness and performance of even the simplest animals when operating in unstructured environments. This observation has prompted an interest in biomimetic robots that take design inspiration from biology. However, even biomimetic designs are compromised by the complexity and fragility that result from using traditional engineering materials and manufacturing methods. We argue that biomimetic design must be combined with structures that mimic the way biological structures are composed, with embedded actuators and sensors and spatially-varied materials. This proposition is made possible by a layered-manufacturing technology called shape deposition manufacturing (SDM). We present a family of hexapedal robots whose functional biomimetic design is made possible by SDM's unique capabilities and whose fast (over four body-lengths per second) and robust (traversal over hip-height obstacles) performance begins to compare to that seen in nature. We describe the design and fabrication of the robots and we present the results of experiments that focus on their performance and locomotion dynamics.

Key Words: biomimetic robots • locomotion • shape deposition manufacturing

The International Journal of Robotics Research, Vol. 21, No. 10-11, 869-882 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/0278364902021010837


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. F. Silva and J.A. Tenreiro Machado A Historical Perspective of Legged Robots Journal of Vibration and Control, September 1, 2007; 13(9-10): 1447 - 1486. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. Kim, J. E. Clark, and M. R. Cutkosky iSprawl: Design and Tuning for High-speed Autonomous Open-loop Running The International Journal of Robotics Research, September 1, 2006; 25(9): 903 - 912. [Abstract] [PDF]

				I. Poulakakis, E. Papadopoulos, and M. Buehler On the Stability of the Passive Dynamics of Quadrupedal Running with a Bounding Gait The International Journal of Robotics Research, July 1, 2006; 25(7): 669 - 687. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. E. Seipel and P. Holmes Running in Three Dimensions: Analysis of a Point-mass Sprung-leg Model The International Journal of Robotics Research, August 1, 2005; 24(8): 657 - 674. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. G. Cham, J. K. Karpick, and M. R. Cutkosky Stride Period Adaptation of a Biomimetic Running Hexapod The International Journal of Robotics Research, February 1, 2004; 23(2): 141 - 153. [Abstract] [PDF]