Design and Development of a Quadruped Robot

Abstract

This project presents the design and development of a quadruped robot, including the mechanical design and construction, kinematics analysis, dynamic control theory and algorithm, control circuit and software, gait and leg trajectory generation. The design of the robot utilises rapid prototyping methods and commercially-commonly available component. Result in a low-cost, replicable and reachable design. The mechanical system is designed in 3D modelling software and includes 3D printed parts and CNC parts. The detail design specification follows a set of estimated loading and locomotive force. The inverse kinematics is obtained only by trigonometry without using matrix operation. The inverse kinematics allows the robot to get the angular position of each joint that corresponds to the target position of the individual leg in a three-dimensional space. The dynamic control system allows the robot to maintain balance and resist external disturbance. The control circuit and software are designed to be versatile and provide a framework for quick implementation and simple modification. The control system is based on a master and slave system design concept which includes an ARM Cortex-M4 Soc and an AVR 328p microcontroller broads. Finally, the quadruped is successfully to perform gait motion to demonstrate the locomotion of the robot.