A multi-legged robot with less actuators by applying passive body segment joint

In this paper, we propose a novel configuration of a multi-legged robot which has only one degree of freedom in each leg and a passive body segment joint between each pair of body segments. With this configuration, a robot can perform planar legged locomotion with less actuators than the conventional legged robots. To model the mobility of a robot with this novel configuration, we firstly select candidate configurations from all of the possible configurations by performing mobility analysis on the robot. Then, feasible gait patterns for achieving planar locomotion are designed with these candidate configurations. The idea that legged locomotion is achievable by less actuators as well as the gait planning methods are verified finally by simulations.