Design of behavior-based micro-rover robot

A behavior-based robot is a purposeful and robust machine that operates in, and directly interacts with, the environment. The design of a behavior-based robot bounds uncertainty of the real world local to a given task-achieving behavior. Each behavior has a known competence for robust and reliable operation in a specific real world context. Task-achieving behaviors collectively interact via the surrounding environment to produce the purposeful behavior. This paper describes a legged robotic system, called the Mars Micro-Rover, to serve as a testbed to evaluate the performance potential of small legged robotic systems and their control architectures. It is a testbed for rovers to operate on Mars, and it measures 70 cm×55 cm×35 cm. A simple, biologically-inspired oscillatory network controls gait modulation based on environmental influences. A recurrent cyclic inhibition is chosen to generate a four-phase pattern for Micro-Rover locomotion