Reconfigurable and Agile Legged-Wheeled Robot Navigation in Cluttered Environments With Movable Obstacles

Abstract

Legged and wheeled locomotion are two standard methods used by robots to perform navigation. Combining them to create a hybrid legged-wheeled locomotion results in increased speed, agility, and reconfigurability for the robot, allowing it to traverse a multitude of environments. The CENTAURO robot has these advantages, but they are accompanied by a higher-dimensional search space for formulating autonomous economical motion plans, especially in cluttered environments. In this article, we first review our previously presented legged-wheeled footprint reconfiguring global planner. We describe the two incremental prototypes, where the primary goal of the algorithms is to reduce the search space of possible footprints such that plans that expand the robot over the low-lying wide obstacles or narrow into passages can be computed with speed and efficiency. The planner also considers the cost of avoiding obstacles versus negotiating them by expanding over them. The second part of this article presents our new work on local obstacle pushing, which further increases the number of tight scenarios the planner can solve. The goal of the new local push-planner is to place any movable obstacle of unknown mass and inertial properties, obstructing the previously planned trajectory from our global planner, to a location devoid of obstruction. This is done while minimising the distance traveled by the robot, the distance the object is pushed, and its rotation caused by the push. Together, the local and global planners form a major part of the agile reconfigurable navigation suite for the legged-wheeled hybrid CENTAURO robot.

Navigation Among Movable Obstacles via Multi-Object Pushing Into Storage Zones

“…In particular, the problem of how affordances detection can be used to create open loop NAMO plans. In Raghavan et al [25], proposed a simple pushed-based strategy for freeing paths using a wheeled quadruped robot.…”

AAPP: An Accelerative and Adaptive Path Planner for Robots on GPU

“…For instance, in very recent works [11], the authors introduced an extension of A * to drive a mobile platform to sanitize rooms. In [12], an A * algorithm was used to find the collision-free path for a legged robot to achieve autonomous navigation, while in [13], similar path planners were developed for wheeled-legged path planning. For legged robots, the problem is connected to footstep planning too [14], [15], [16], where a sequence of footsteps are searched for navigation.…”

Evolution, Design, and Future Trajectories on Bipedal Wheel-legged Robot: A Comprehensive Review

“…Subsequently, this field has witnessed substantial advancements, most notably marked by the introduction of the inaugural Zero Moment Point (ZMP) based robot in 1985, which achieved dynamic bipedal walking [25]. These robots, incorporating both legged and wheeled attributes, have gained commendation for their adaptability and efficiency across various terrains, be they uneven or smooth [5], [22], [26]. Furthermore, there has been a growing fascination with these robots due to their distinctive fusion of wheeled maneuverability and legged dexterity [27].…”

“…The development of efficient BWL robots involves the use of lightweight materials, sophisticated control algorithms, and innovative actuation systems, all converging to minimize energy consumption [139]. Researchers are proposing unique locomotion mechanisms and adaptable wheel legs for effective navigation across diverse environments [26], [30], [38]. The intricacies of mechanical design, especially in components like hip, knee, and ankle joints, are paramount for these robots' performance [140].…”