Tripod gait-based turning gait of a six-legged walking robot

The turning gait planning and improvement methods of a six-legged walking robot on the basis of tripod gait are presented in this study. A projection method that considers an unstructured environment is proposed for the turning gait planning of the six-legged walking robot. The body and foot motion trajectories of the swing legs are planned with polynomial curves to keep the robot steady while walking. Two basic turning gaits, namely, circling and spinning gaits, are successfully designed with the planning method. An optimized method is proposed to improve the turning angle, which is subjected to stability, kinematics, and relief amplitude constraints in the unstructured environment. The turning ability of the turning gait is improved with the optimized turning angle. The circling and spinning gaits are implemented in simulations and experiments. Results demonstrate that the planning and improvement methods for the turning gait are valid and correct.