Page 258 - Robots Androids and Animatrons : 12 Incredible Projects You Can Build

In position A the center legs are rotated CW by about 20 degrees
from center position. This causes the robot to tilt to the right. The
weight distribution is now on the front and back right legs and the
center left leg. This is the standard “tripod” position described ear-
lier. Since there is no weight on the front and back left legs, they are
free to move forward as shown in the B position of Fig. 11.6.
In the C position the center legs are rotated CCW by about 20 de-
grees from center position. This causes the robot to tilt to the left.
The weight distribution is now on the front and back left legs and
the center right leg. Since there is no weight on the front and back
right legs, they are free to move forward as shown in the D position.
In the E position the center legs are rotated back to their center
position. The robot is not in a tilted position, so its weight is dis-
tributed on the front and back legs. In the F position, the front and
back legs are moved backward simultaneously, causing the robot
to move forward. The walking cycle then repeats.
This is the first gait pattern I tried, and it worked. There are other
walking patterns you can design, develop, and experiment with. I will
leave it to you to develop walking patterns for reverse (walking back-
ward), turning left, and turning right. In my next book on robotics,
I will continue the development of this robot, providing wall and 237

11.6 Hexapod’s walking gate

Team LRN Walker robots