This robot walker has two drive motors, one for each side. Four rectilinear legs on each side provide a smooth and stable gait. Steering is achieved by changing the relative speeds of the two motors. This is another excellent design by Ken Nguyen.
This is the latest walker design from Ken Nguyen. His designs demonstrate the effectiveness of the rectilinear leg. We used one of his designs as the prototype for our Halloween walkers. Here he demonstrates the use of these legs in a four-legged walker. Please take a look.
This walking robot has four legs and only two actuators. Usually a walking robot has two actuators for each leg, so four legs means eight actuators. Our goal has been to find ways to reduce the number of actuators and the associated control burden and still have an effective walking robot. This prototype was developed in collaboration with Chenhao Liu at SUSTech (Southern University of Science and Technology, Sichuan, China) with Jiaji Li at UCI (University of California, Irvine) that started with the UCInspire program last Summer 2022 and continues into 2023.
These Halloween robots were delivering candy at UCI on October 31, 2022. For Fall 2022, we were back to in person project-based learning and the students responded enthusiastically. Over the summer we improved the joint design as well as the drive train, and we focussed on two legs to simplify the construction. The result was an improvement in overall performance that lays the groundwork for the future. Please take a look.
This lecture describes my approach to project-based learning for Kinematic synthesis, which I developed while on sabbatical at Stanford University. I presented this lecture at the 2019 Kinematics Summer School organized by Anurag Purwar. Since that time, we have gotten better at making these walking robots easier to build and more reliable.
Kempe’s Universality Theorem states that every algebraic curve has an associated linkage that draws the curve. A popular phrasing of this theorem is “a linkage exists that can sign your name”. This lecture summarizes our efforts to find simplified versions of curve-drawing linkages. A remarkable outcome is the ability to mechanically draw Bézier curves, which yields a linkage system that can sign your name, and even write cursive Chinese. I was honored to return to the University of Pennsylvania’s Grasp Lab after over 30 years to make this presentation. This highlights the excellent work Yang Liu.
This is my lecture from the 2014 Kinematics Summer School organized by Anurag Purwar and is my best summary of the status of kinematic theory for the synthesis of planar six-bar and eight-bar linkages. It highlights the excellent work of Mark Plecnik, Kaustube Sonawale, Brian Parrish and Brandon Tsuge.
Now Available on Amazon
In this book, we present the detailed design of mechanical walking robots that are driven by a single motor. These walkers rely on specially designed leg mechanisms coordinated by gear trains in order to walk, rather than multiple computer controlled motors per leg. The result is a simplified walking robot that provides a platform for other mechanical and electronic functions.
Two, four and six legged walkers are presented that implement different types of leg mechanisms and power trains. In each case, we provide drawings for a laser cut wood or acrylic chassis, 3D printed parts and a complete parts list. Several of the designs implement an additional motor for steering as well as electronic components and software for speed control.
Our goal is to provide enthusiasts of all backgrounds what they need to build a walking robot at home, to explore new design ideas, and, perhaps, to enjoy the operation of one of these robots as it moves across the ground.
The paperback version is available from Amazon.
I am pleased to provide the presentations from the 2012 National Science Foundation Workshop on 21st Century Kinematics. These presentations provide insight to the challenges and opportunities for research in mechanical systems and robotics.
The NSF Workshop on 21st Century Kinematics at the 2012 ASME IDETC Conference in Chicago, IL on August 11-12, 2012 consisted of a series of presentations and a book of supporting material prepared by the workshop contributors.
The book is available at amazon.com: 21st Century Kinematics–The 2012 NSF Workshop.
And here are the presentations given at the workshop.
It seems time to consider another similar workshop for 2022.
Brandon Tsuge describes how to assemble the controller for two motors to drive the right and left sides of a walking machine using an RC transmitter and controller. See The Bored Robot: Using a DC Brushed Motor with a Rotary Encoder.
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