Multilegged matter transport: A framework for locomotion on noisy landscapes

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Chong, Baxi; He, Juntao; Soto, Daniel; Wang, Tianyu; Irvine, Daniel; Blekherman, Grigoriy; Goldman, Daniel I.
• 署名单位: University System of Georgia; Georgia Institute of Technology; University System of Georgia; Georgia Institute of Technology; University System of Georgia; Georgia Institute of Technology; University System of Georgia; Georgia Institute of Technology
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-10467
• DOI: 10.1126/science.ade4985
• 发表日期: 2023-05-05
• 页码: 509-515
• 关键词: legged locomotion; robotics

摘要

Whereas the transport of matter by wheeled vehicles or legged robots can be guaranteed in engineered landscapes such as roads or rails, locomotion prediction in complex environments such as collapsed buildings or crop fields remains challenging. Inspired by the principles of information transmission, which allow signals to be reliably transmitted over noisy channels, we developed a matter-transport framework that demonstrates that noninertial locomotion can be provably generated over noisy rugose landscapes (heterogeneities on the scale of locomotor dimensions). Experiments confirm that sufficient spatial redundancy in the form of serially connected legged robots leads to reliable transport on such terrain without requiring sensing and control. Further analogies from communication theory coupled with advances in gaits (coding) and sensor-based feedback control (error detection and correction) can lead to agile locomotion in complex terradynamic regimes.