AQuRo: A Cat-like Adaptive Quadruped Robot With Novel Bio-Inspired Capabilities

• Main Authors: Azhar Aulia Saputra, Naoyuki Takesue, Kazuyoshi Wada, Auke Jan Ijspeert, Naoyuki Kubota
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-04-01
• Series: Frontiers in Robotics and AI
• Subjects: quadruped robot; bio-inspired model; neural-based locomotion; internal-external sensory information; novel capabilities
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2021.562524/full

There are currently many quadruped robots suited to a wide range of applications, but traversing some terrains, such as vertical ladders, remains an open challenge. There is still a need to develop adaptive robots that can walk and climb efficiently. This paper presents an adaptive quadruped robot that, by mimicking feline structure, supports several novel capabilities. We design a novel paw structure and several point-cloud-based sensory structures incorporating a quad-composite time-of-flight sensor and a dual-laser range finder. The proposed robot is equipped with physical and cognitive capabilities which include: 1) a dynamic-density topological map building with attention model, 2) affordance perception using the topological map, and 3) a neural-based locomotion model. The novel capabilities show strong integration between locomotion and internal–external sensory information, enabling short-term adaptations in response to environmental changes. The robot performed well in several situations: walking on natural terrain, walking with a leg malfunction, avoiding a sudden obstacle, climbing a vertical ladder. Further, we consider current problems and future development.