This project describes work being conducted at the Louisiana State University Robotics Research Laboratory towards the development of legged robot walking algorithms for unstructured environments.This work is associated with the Robo-Tiger project whose goal is the construction of a life-size robotic tiger mascot with the physical attributes of a real tiger. The focus of this research is on robots with multi-jointed legs, and the goal is to develop algorithms and architectures capable of learning new walking patterns to allow autonomous compensation for varying and unknown terrains.

Introduction:

This project discusses current efforts at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Robotics Research Laboratory towards the development of control/learning architectures for use with robots that will operate in unstructured environments. Our primary focus is on the development of a distributed system for controlling the leg movements of a mobile robot.An architecture is desired that will allow the robot to autonomously adapt its leg and gait control to variable terrains. The targeted application for this research is the 4-legged LSU Robo-Tiger.

The LSU Robo-Tiger project is a joint effort involving LSU’s Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Athletic departments.The idea was conceived by Dr. S.S. Iyengar and Dr. Lynn Jelinski late in the fall semester of 1999.The goal was to build a cybernetic tiger to be used to help the school mascot, Mike the Tiger, with his duties at the school's various athletic functions. In doing so, it was hoped the project would not only catch the imagination of the students and faculty, but also provide a viable research platform for studying various issues pertaining to mobile robots in unstructured environments. Under the direction of Dr. S.S. Iyengar, the LSU Computer Science department’s Robot Research Lab has conducted preliminary studies to determine the feasibility of the project.

The first phase of the project consisted of constructing, modifying and programming a small prototype of the tiger. A series of three prototypes were used to identify the various issues involved in developing a full sized robotic tiger. Although the resulting prototypes are much-simplified versions of the final product, many of the ideas, concepts, algorithms and construction methods are applicable.

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Robotics Research Laboratory
298 Coates Hall,
Louisiana State Univeristy,
Baton Rouge, LA 70803.
Phone: (225) - 578 - 1252
Fax     : (225) - 578 - 1465                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
E-mail: rrl@bit.csc.lsu.edu