Journal of Bionic Engineering (2023) 20:558–567https://doi.org/10.1007/s42235-022-00290-1

CPG Modulates the Omnidirectional Motion of a Hexapod Robot in Unstructured Terrain 

Wei Zhang1  · Qingshuo Gong1  · Haoyu Yang1  · Yejing Tang1

1 Institute of Intelligent Science and Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China

AbstractFreely shuttling in complex terrain is a basic skill of multi-legged animals. To make the hexapod robot have omnidirectional motion ability by controlling only one parameter, this paper uses the motion control method based on Central Pattern Generator (CPG), maps the output signal of CPG to the foot end trajectory space of the hexapod robot, and proposes an omnidirectional gait controller strategy. In addition, to enable the hexapod robot to adapt to unstructured terrain, an adaptive method based on Dynamic Threshold (DT) is proposed to enable the hexapod robot move in all directions without changing the heading angle in unstructured terrain. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed method is verifed by virtual simulation and hexapod robot prototype experiment. Results show that the hexapod robot can omnidirectional motion without changing the heading angle and has good stability in unstructured terrain. 

Keywords Bionic Robot · Central Pattern Generator (CPG) · Omnidirectional Gait · Unstructured Terrain