Experimental determination of control parameter intervals for repeatable gaits in modular snake robots

Controlling motion in a Modular Snake Robot can be achieved by reducing the high dimensionality of the robot´s configuration space Q. This can be done by using cyclic motions programed by functions whose parameters conform to a parameterized space P. In the scope of this research P = ℝ⁹, wich leads to an infinite set of possible gaits. However, not every combination of parameters leads to feasible and effective gaits. The paper outlines practical limitations of P related to mechanical constraints and theoretical rules that analyze the behavior of the parameterized functions that control the robot´s motion. Once these limits were imposed on the parameterized space, an experimental sweep along the feasible parameter intervals was carried out. The aim of this sweep was to verify and analyze the type of locomotion output produced, in order to select a set of gaits according to a criteria that measures their repeatability. The value of select repeatable gaits based on the control parameters relies on the possibility of using them as a basis for determining general locomotion models that are scalable to different numbers of DoF.