Mechanical design for a hydraulically actuated quadruped robot

Official URL: http://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b1649234 (Table of Contents)

Considerable amount of research efforts are spent on the field of legged robotics in the past 60 years. Studies in this area extend from running on one leg to humanoid robots, from four legged robots (quadruped) to multi-legged bug-inspired robots. The advantage of four legged structure is that it is more balanced compared structures with less legs. This feature makes four legged robots candidates rough terrain conditions and for dangerous tasks. Because of the high power-to-weight ratio and fast dynamic response properties, hydraulic actuation systems are suitable for difficult tasks. Towards the goal of creating a hydraulically actuated quadruped robot, this thesis presents: - The mechanical design and experimental testing of a two degrees-of-freedom prototype leg - The mechanical design and analysis of a rigid-chassis quadruped - The mechanical design and analysis a quadruped chassis with a two degrees-of-freedom articulation at its waist The prototype leg with two degrees-of-freedom at hip and knee axes is designed for preliminary experiments. Each leg on the robot has three active degrees-of-freedom. The degrees-of-freedom added at the quadruped waist aim at improving balance, velocity, and adaptation to land.