Modeling and simulation for designing a line walking chameleon-like legged robot

Legged robots have been developed to move on uneven terrains. They can move smoother and step over obstacles easily, and they are more versatile in various environmental scenarios. These features make them desirable for maintenance and/or search-and-rescue tasks where mobility is restricted on these complex terrains. A problem arises when legged robots are required to walk on the top of narrow support, e.g. thin beams or tubes. In this work, we present the design of a line walking legged robot for narrowed support. To achieve this goal, we get inspiration from the chameleon locomotion. From these observations, we simulate the robot, design an intelligent control strategy for self-balancing and walking, and we implement a robot prototype. The experimental results show that the balance controller provides a tilt angle of 2.24±2.21∘, while the robot walks in a straight line with a maximum offset of 3.0 cm and with a walking velocity of 0.2 cm/s. Our results demonstrate that the robot can move on narrowed support lines. We anticipate that the design of legged robots inspired by the chameleon locomotion might open wider possibilities for rescue and maintenance missions. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.