| Description |
This thesis focuses on the design, modeling, fabrication, and testing of a ?ying and walking robot, called the Dynamic Underactuated Flying-Walking (DUCK) robot. The DUCK robot combines a high-mobility ?ying platform, such as a quadcopter (quadrotor helicopter), with passive-dynamic legs to create a versatile system that can ?y and walk. One of the advantages of using passive-dynamic legs for walking is that additional actuators are not needed for terrestrial locomotion, therefore simplifying the design, reducing overall weight, and decreasing power consumption. First, a mathematical model is developed for the DUCK robot, where the modeling combines the passive-dynamic walking mechanism with the swinging mass of the aerial platform. Second, simulations based on the model are used to help guide the design of two prototype robots, speci?cally to tailor the shape of the feet and the dimensions of the passive-dynamic walking mechanism. Third, an energy analysis is performed to compare the performances between ?ying and walking. More specifically, simulation results show that continuous active walking has a comparable energy efficiency to that of flying for the two prototype designs. For design Version 1, it is estimated that the robot is able to walk up to 1600 meters on a 30kJ battery (standard Li-Po battery) with a cost of transport of 1.0, while the robot can potentially fly up to 1800 meters horizontally with the weight of its legs and up to 2300 meters without the weight of its legs. Design Version 2 is estimated to be able to walk up to 4600 meters on a 30kJ battery with a cost of transport of .50, while it could fly up to 2600 meters with the weight of its legs or 4300 meters without its legs. The cost of transport of flying is estimated to be .89 in all scenarios. Finally, experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of combining an aerial platform with passive-dynamic legs to create an effective flying and walking robot. Two modes of walking are experimentally demonstrated: (1) passive walking down inclined surfaces for low-energy terrestrial locomotion and (2) active (powered) walking leveraging the capabilities of the flying platform, where thrust from the quadcopter's rotors enables the DUCK robot to walk on flat surfaces or up inclined surfaces. |
