Brodoline I, Sauvageot E, Viollet S, Serres JR. Shaping the energy curves of a servomotor-based hexapod robot.
Sci Rep 2024;
14:11675. [PMID:
38778163 DOI:
10.1038/s41598-024-62184-y]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The advantageous versatility of hexapod robots is often accompanied by high power consumption, while animals have evolved an energy efficient locomotion. However, there are a lack of methods able to compare and apply animals' energetic optimizations to robots. In this study, we applied our method to a full servomotor-based hexapod robot to evaluate its energetic performance. Using an existing framework based on the laws of thermodynamics, we estimated four metrics using a dedicated test bench and a simulated robotic leg. We analyzed the characteristics of a single leg to shape the energetic profile of the full robot to a given task. Energy saving is improved by 10% through continuous duty factor adjustment with a 192% increase in power maximization. Moreover, adjusting the robot's velocity by the step length and associating this with gait switching, reduces the power loss by a further 10% at low-speed locomotion. However, unlike in animals, only one unique optimal operating point has been revealed, which is a disadvantage caused by the low energetic efficiency of servomotor-based hexapods. Thus, these legged robots are severely limited in their capacity to optimally adjust their locomotion to various tasks-a counter-intuitive conclusion for a supposedly versatile robot.
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