Quadruped Manipulator

Hardware and software of a 18-DoF mobile manipulator (2023)

In 2023, my third year at the NUS, I participated in the development of a 18-degree-of-freedom (DoF) quadruped mobile manipulator robot. It consists of a 12-DoF legged robot and a 6-DoF robotic manipulator, expected to perform mobile manipulation in complex terrain.

Project members:

  • Mechanics: Terry Cavan Chan, Xinyu Jia.
  • Electronics & Software & Algorithm: Xinyu Jia.
Quadruped mobile manipulator.
Quadruped robot + Robotic manipulator.

Compared to its predecessors, the mechanical system has major upgrades. For example, more carbon fiber material is used for lightweighting (25kg in total). We also select a more powerful motor (GYEMS RMD X8 Pro 9:1) and design a new leg tranmission structure to support a higher payload.

Robot body (left) and leg tranmission (right).
Simulations of equivalent stress and total deformation.
Joint connection.

The electronic system is also upgraded. The onboard computers, PC104 and NVIDIA TX2 in the previous version, are replaced by Intel NUC and NVIDIA Xavier, respectively. The layout of electronic devices is carefully designed to facilitate maintenance after experiments.

Layout of electronic devices.
Electronic system.

Currently, all hardware has been completed. A whole-body planning and control algorithm is being developed to coordinate its locomotion and manipulation. Let’s wait and see!

Close-up view.
A family photo of my robot friends during my 4-year Ph.D. journey