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Development and field testing of the FootFall planning system for the ATHLETE robots
Author(s) -
SunSpiral Vytas,
Wheeler D.W.,
ChavezClemente Daniel,
Mittman David
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of field robotics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.152
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4967
pISSN - 1556-4959
DOI - 10.1002/rob.20410
Subject(s) - payload (computing) , robot , terrain , engineering , aeronautics , field (mathematics) , simulation , drone , test (biology) , systems engineering , computer science , artificial intelligence , geography , ecology , computer security , cartography , mathematics , network packet , biology , pure mathematics , genetics
Abstract The FootFall Planning System is a ground‐based planning and decision support system designed to facilitate the control of walking activities for the ATHLETE (All‐Terrain Hex‐Limbed Extra‐Terrestrial Explorer) family of robots. ATHLETE was developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is a large, six‐legged robot designed to serve multiple roles during manned and unmanned missions to the moon; its roles include transportation, construction, and exploration. Over the 4 years from 2006 through 2010 the FootFall Planning System was developed and adapted to two generations of the ATHLETE robots and tested at two analog field sites [the Human Robotic Systems Project's Integrated Field Test at Moses Lake, Washington, June 2008, and the Desert Research and Technology Studies (D‐RATS), held at Black Point Lava Flow in Arizona, September 2010]. Having 42 degrees of kinematic freedom, standing to a maximum height of just over 4 m, and having a payload capacity of 450 kg in Earth gravity, the current version of the ATHLETE robot is a uniquely complex system. A central challenge to this work was the compliance of the high‐degree‐of‐freedom robot, especially the compliance of the wheels, which affected many aspects of statically stable walking. This paper reviews the history of the development of the FootFall system, sharing design decisions, field test experiences, and the lessons learned concerning compliance and self‐awareness. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.