December 18, 2014Hector the stick insect-inspired robot takes its first steps

Hector the stick insect-inspired robot traversing an obstacle course (Photo: Bielefeld University)

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Hector, the stick insect-inspired robot built by a research team at Bielefeld University in Germany that we first covered in 2011, could be forgiven for feeling lonely as the only one of its kind in world, but has lately been too busy learning to walk to worry on its unique status. It is hoped that Hector, which stands for Hexapod Cognitive autonomously Operating Robot, will benefit not only roboticists but also biologists interested in animal movement.

Most six-legged robots tend to walk with a tripod or another fixed leg gait. Hector, however, has a "free gait," meaning it has flexible leg control to deal with rough surfaces with each leg making its own decision of when and where to move. Called "active posture adaptation," it means using its sensors, Hector can figure out how to surmount basic obstacles, such as a wooden platform.

Modeled on a stick insect, Hector features a very light exoskeleton made from carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP). Along with its many sensors and short-range cameras, the unique robot has 18 passive electric joints that mimic the way muscles act.

"The way that the elasticity in Hector’s drives acts is comparable to the way that muscles act in biological systems," says Professor Dr. Axel Schneider. "However, elasticity alone is not enough for Hector to be able to walk through a natural environment containing obstacles. The challenge was to develop a control system that would coordinate the movements of its legs in difficult surroundings as well."

"All sub-systems have to communicate with each other for the robot to walk without any difficulties," says researcher Jan Paskarbeit. "Otherwise, for example, Hector might have too many legs in the air at one time, become unstable, and fall over. Moreover, the legs have to be able to react to collisions with obstacles. We have dealt with this by implementing a reflex behavior for climbing over objects."

Hector can thus behave rather like an actual insect and make decisions about how to best proceed through its immediate surroundings. The researchers say that in the future, Hector could also serve as a platform for biologists and roboticists to test hypotheses about animal locomotion.

A virtual prototype was also built to test things out without risking damage to the robot. The scientists also studied the motion of real stick insects to understand the control mechanisms in the insect’s nervous system and turn them into viable computer models.

Hector is still something of an incomplete stick insect robot, but its creators say by 2017 it will be much improved as it is part of a major project at Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC). The team is already created a prototype with two lateral cameras and two tactile feelers, and is currently working on attaching far-range sensors to Hector's "head."

受竹节虫启发迈出研发Hector机器人的第一步

12月18日，2014Hector的竹节虫启发的机器人将其第一个steps

赫克托的竹节虫启发的机器人穿越障碍赛（摄影：比勒费尔德大学）

图片廊（图像）

赫克托，由一个研究小组在比勒费尔德大学在德国，我们在2011年首次覆盖建竹节虫启发的机器人，可以原谅感到孤独作为其在世界上只有一个，但近来一直忙于学习走路担心其独特的地位。希望赫克托，它代表六足认知自主作业机器人，不仅有利于机器人专家，而且生物学家感兴趣的动物的运动。

大多数六条腿的机器人往往走使用三脚架或其他固定脚的步态。赫克托，然而，有一个“自由步态”，这意味着它具有灵活的腿控制处理粗糙的表面，每一腿作出自己的时间和位置移动的决定。被称为“积极的姿态适应，”这意味着使用它的传感器，赫克托能弄清楚如何克服基本的障碍，比如一个木制平台。

仿照竹节虫，赫克托拥有很轻的外骨骼制成碳纤维增强塑料（CFRP）。随着众多的传感器和短距离摄像头，独特的机器人有18个被动式电动关节，模仿的方式肌肉行事。

“，在Hector的驱动器上的弹性作用的方式是相媲美的方式肌肉的生物系统的行为， “施乃德博士教授说。 “但是，仅仅弹性是不够的赫克托才能够穿行含障碍的自然环境。我们面临的挑战是制定一个控制系统，该系统将协调它的腿在困难的环境中的动作一样。”

“所有子-systems与对方的机器人，没有任何困难，走路沟通，“研究员简Paskarbeit说。 “否则，例如，赫可能具有太多的腿在空气中在同一时间，变得不稳定，并翻倒。此外，腿必须能够与障碍反应以碰撞。我们已经通过实施反射处理了这个攀登过对象的行为。“

赫克托因此可以表现得有点像一个实际的昆虫，并就如何最好地着手通过其周围的环境决定的。研究人员说，在未来，赫克托也可以作为生物学家和机器人专家，以测试对动物运动的假说提供了平台。

虚拟样机还内置了测试的东西出来，而不用担心损坏的机器人。科学家们还研究了真正的竹节虫的议案，了解昆虫的神经系统的控制机制，使之成为可行的计算机模型。

赫克托却仍然是一个不完整的竹节虫机器人，但它的创造者说，到2017年这将是大为改善，因为它是卓越认知交互技术（CITEC）的集群重大项目的一部分。该团队已经创建了一个原型带有两个侧面摄像头和两个触感触角，目前正在安装远范围传感器赫克托