Motion control technique for practical use of a leg-wheel robot on unknown outdoor rough terrains

In this paper, we propose a basic control method for the leg-wheel robot moving on unexplored rough terrains. When moving on a rough terrain, the compliance values and the trajectories of legs are set up according to the environment without using external sensors. And the step axis mechanism that we have developed, realizes the stable rolling movement of the robot. The proposed method is evaluated by a walking experiment in an outdoor natural terrain.