Locomotion control experiments in cockroach robot with artificial muscles

This dissertation describes experimental efforts to improve the control and mechanical designs of a biologically-inspired hexapod robot. Robot V is modeled after the Blaberus discoidalis cockroach. It uses Festo pneumatic muscle actuators with two way solenoid valves activated by Pulse-Width-Modulation. Robot 5 is capable of rudimentary walking without sensors, but walking with style requires proprioceptors to measure joint angles and load. Control circuits are described in this thesis that coordinate the robot's joints and legs using sensor data.; The Modified Moore Penrose method is used to solve the inverse kinematics problem for each of the robot's legs at a number of foot positions within the legs' workspaces. These solutions are used to train neural networks that then are used to solve the inverse kinematics problems on line as the robot moves. A Cruse controller is used to coordinate the legs into insect gaits. These controllers are tested in a dynamic simulation that models the robot's dynamics, actuators and valves. The simulated Robot V walks successfully.; The control strategies were then implemented and tested in Robot V. The robot was shown to move its legs in insect gaits while it was supported in the air such that its feet could not touch the ground. Load feedback must be implemented before it will walk well on the ground. The robot's design was compared to Robot III and a number of problems with Robot V's design were discovered during experimentation.