Robot locomotion
collective name for the various methods that robots use to transport themselves from place to place
Robot locomotion is the collective name for the various methods that robots use to transport themselves from place to place.
Wheeled robots are typically quite energy efficient and simple to control. However, other forms of locomotion may be more appropriate for a number of reasons, for example traversing rough terrain, as well as moving and interacting in human environments. Furthermore, studying bipedal and insect-like robots may beneficially impact on biomechanics.
A major goal in this field is in developing capabilities for robots to autonomously decide how, when, and where to move. However, coordinating numerous robot joints for even simple matters, like negotiating stairs, is difficult. Autonomous robot locomotion is a major technological obstacle for many areas of robotics, such as humanoids (like Honda's Asimo).
Types of locomotion
Walking
Walking robots simulate human or animal gait, as a replacement for wheeled motion. Legged motion makes it possible to negotiate uneven surfaces, steps, and other areas that would be difficult for a wheeled robot to reach, as well as causes less damage to environmental terrain as wheeled robots, which would erode it.
Hexapod robots are based on insect locomotion, most popularly the cockroach and stick insect, whose neurological and sensory output is less complex than other animals.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Robot locomotion” as collective name for the various methods that robots use to transport themselves from place to place. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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This entry incorporates text from “Robot locomotion” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.