Integrated sensing of movement and forces in a technical limb

Navigation is an important part of exploring new uncharted areas. For rovers moving on legs instead of wheels this task is more complex. In this project we are looking for a way to navigate by mimicing the ants way of proprioceptive sensoring.

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Integrated sensing of movement and forces in a technical limb

Current planetary surface exploration rovers' navigation techniques mainly focus on the visual stimulants. Typical visual navigation components (e.g. CCD-camera) are bulky and real-life tracking algorithms heavy on the processor unit.

In this project, we are trying to implement our knowledge of ants into robotics. The way ants and some other insects count their steps and measure the strain in their Campaniform Sensillas to navigate through the terrain. We want to come up with an navigation system that is not requiring a lot of processing power or space and is precise enough to keep track of our rovers.

Literature

J.W.S. Pringle (1937), Proprioception in insects II. The action of the Campaniform Sensilla on the Legs, Department of Zoology, Cambridge.

Wehner R. (2008). The architecture of the desert ant's navigational toolkit (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

Wittlinger et. al (2006). The Ant Odometer: Stepping on Stilts and Stumps.

Lin et. Al (2006), Legged Odometry from Body Pose in a Hexapod Robot, Experimental Robotics IX, STAR 21, p. 439-448.