Robotic legs are an important component of the quadruped robot for achieving different motion gaits. Although the conventional rigid-link-based legs can generally perform robust motions, they still have the issues with poor sealing when operating in complex and liquid terrains. To cope with this problem, fully compliant legs with monolithic structure have been introduced in recent years to improve the system compactness and structural compliance of quadruped robots. In this article, we present a topology-optimization-based method to achieve efficient design of compliant robotic legs. In order to balance the structural stiffness and bending flexibility of the realized leg, a multi-objective optimization algorithm is utilized. A series of design cases are presented to illustrate the design principle and analytical procedure of the proposed method. In addition, experimental evaluation is also performed, and the results have demonstrated that, a quadruped robot with the optimized legs can successfully achieve stable and continuous straight-line walking motions.
The rapid development of digitalization and 3D printing is creating an ever-increasing demand for methods for the automated generation of 3D models from real components. Thanks to the progress and widespread use of computer vision, it is now possible to merge classical engineering tasks with image processing techniques. Computer aided design can therefore be automated using information from image data. In this work, we present a novel method for automated digitization of 3D structures using AprilTag fiducial system and Solid Geometry Library. The proposed design process is implemented in MATLAB. AprilTags are used to realize 3D coordinate measurements in order to digitally capture the 3D dimensions of real components. Based on these data, 3D replica models are generated with the Solid Geometry Library toolbox, which enables automated design of 3D surface models in MATLAB. The mathematical background of this procedure is described in detail. The capability of the proposed method is demonstrated on 3D structures composed of components with fixed cross-sections and fundamental 3D structures such as prisms, cylinders, and spheres. Further improvements in the coordinate measurement process using AprilTag and further implementation in MATLAB can extend the functionality for the digitization of more complex 3D structures.
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