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Reference Number EP/S002383/1
Title Robust Legged Locomotion for Autonomous Mobility in Challenging Environments
Status Completed
Energy Categories Nuclear Fission and Fusion(Nuclear Fission, Nuclear supporting technologies) 5%;
Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Oil and Gas, Other oil and gas) 5%;
Not Energy Related 90%;
Research Types Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Computer Science and Informatics) 50%;
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering) 50%;
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator Dr I Havoutis
No email address given
Engineering Science
University of Oxford
Award Type Standard
Funding Source EPSRC
Start Date 01 February 2019
End Date 31 August 2021
Duration 31 months
Total Grant Value £299,994
Industrial Sectors Aerospace; Defence and Marine
Region South East
Programme NC : Engineering
 
Investigators Principal Investigator Dr I Havoutis , Engineering Science, University of Oxford (100.000%)
  Industrial Collaborator Project Contact , United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) (0.000%)
Project Contact , BP PLC (0.000%)
Project Contact , ANYbotics AG, Switzerland (0.000%)
Web Site
Objectives
Abstract Robots with legs and arms are likely replace most manual labour, especially in environments that are dangerous for humans, and revolutionize multiple services domains in the long-term.One of the main advantages of legged robots is that they can discretely make and break contact with the environment, in contrast to wheeled or tracked systems that require continuous contact with the ground. This way, robots with legs can modify their area of support from step to step, a requirement when negotiating challenging terrain and environments primarily built for humans. Also, the use of legs decouples the body from the robot's foot-print. This allows for wide areas of support with only small footprints, a major advantage when navigating passages, tight spaces, cluttered environments, etc. The high articulation of legged systems also allows them to manipulate their center of mass, so that the system's dynamics can be exploited for the task at hand, and to dynamically reconfigure their workspace for the benefit of their payload, i.e., increase a manipulator arm's reach or position a sensor suite in a preferred pose.The autonomous locomotion framework that we will develop will enable current technology to be used in industrial scenarios, especially in hazardous environments that are primarily built for humans. Examples of such places are nuclear power plants, factories, oil & gas facilities, etc., where typically industrial stairs are used and a system will need to overcome various terrain difficulties, such as step over pipes, gaps, climb up/down stairs, manoeuvre through narrow passageways. Legged systems in such settings can have a large variety of roles; starting from inspection, automated monitoring of the condition of a facility; maintenance, periodic recurring tasks that need to be performed typically by a human, to intervention when an anomaly is detected.
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Added to Database 19/03/19