 |
Hope
College Engineering Department
Research Experiences for Undergraduates
Summer 2008
Project Summary |
| Project Title: |
Development of Tetrahedral Walker
Computer Design and Control Interface |
| Student Name: |
Jerry Richard |
| Student's Home Institution: |
MIT |
| Research Advisor: |
Dr. Miguel Abrahantes |
| Source of Support: |
This material is based upon work
supported by the
National Science
Foundation under NSF-REU Grant
No. PHY-0452206, Michigan
Space Grant Consortium, and the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration
Goddard Space Flight Center. |
As part of the effort
to improve robotic exploration technologies, the Tetrahedral Walker Project
seeks to
develop a
flexible robotic interface to deal with complex terrain. These
robots consist of prismatic struts connected by nodes arranged in tetrahedral
cells. To aid in the design of movement sequences
for tetrahedral robots, a computer simulation and control program was developed
using MATLAB™, Simulink™, and SimMechanics™. The
interface allows for easy manipulation of the position of the robot, and a series
of positions can be simulated as a physical motion. This allows for decreased development time of motions
and is especially useful for complicated movements. This program also controls the current prototype robot,
which is a four tetrahedral design. Strut lengths
will be sent to the robot, and these lengths will be interpreted by the onboard
microcontroller and
used as a
choreographed motion. The prototype serves as experimental
verification of the simulated motions.