There
is something about robotics. I think its the deep sense of wonder we
have never lost for that thing we call motion - the controlled, precise,
purposeful action of locomotion. I have long been interested in the concept
of legged excavators. You see, less than half of earth's landmass is
accessible to wheeled and tracked vehicles, yet people and animals can
go almost anywhere on Earth. This situation has inspired and motivated
the development of robot vehicles that use legs for their locomotion
(eg. BigDog), thereby embracing nature’s solution to mobility. For many
the goal is to achieve animal-like mobility on rough and rugged terrain,
terrain too difficult for any existing vehicle, in order to bring "progress" to currently unreachable parts. So, AntereQuad is a first tentative step in the direction of a prototype quadruped excavator. Being an electronic engineer only equipped with an experimental understanding of basic mechanics, the mechanics inherent to quadrupeds have been both challenging and fascinating. This project will be my attempt at exploring existing knowledge on the quadruped robot subject. I'd like to stick to the basics this time around - hence a very mainstream design may be expected.
As this project is a final requirement as part of my Electronic Engineering degree, I will be documenting the entire project. I hope to be able to post my progress here throughout the year. Here's hoping it could be of some use to you.
I have spent considerable time over the past two months researching the various options available in terms of hardware, software, and the integration of the two. My next post will cover the initial mechanical design of my quadruped. Keep creating.
- Mart
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