Deneb provides the power behind Robug IV

Citation

(2000), "Deneb provides the power behind Robug IV", Industrial Robot, Vol. 27 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2000.04927fab.012

Deneb provides the power behind Robug IV

Keyword Deneb

An EU Esprit grant has breathed life into an exciting new walking robot, Robug IV (Plate 4). The £230,000 programme allowed Portsmouth Technology Consultants (Portech) Ltd to build the hardware for the fourth robot in the Robug dynasty. Both the Parallel Applications Centre (PAC) and Portsmouth University's Intelligent Systems and Mobile Robotics Group worked closely with Portech to design Robug IV's advanced control software. Deneb's Envision system was integral to the project.

Plate 4 The new walking robot, Robug IV

Neal Hewer, Portech's senior electronics engineer, said: "We used Deneb's Envision throughout the Robug IV project which has just been completed. The system was deployed right through – from concept to design and verification and finally for Robug's walking strategies."

The long-thought-out modular hardware and software which has been developed for Robug IV is non-specific in its application. Neal explained: "The hard work is done. Our development phases are getting shorter and shorter, and in future, the amount of customisation that will be required for other robots or controllers will be minimal. Robug IV's body, legs, actuators and its open bus architecture can all be easily modified without a major rethink."

Boasting eight pneumatically powered aluminium alloy legs with vacuum feet, Robug IV can clamber over obstacles or even climb walls. Such nimble flexibility will be of especial use to those industries with hazardous environments, such as the nuclear or offshore industries. Humanitarian missions, such as landmine clearance, are also a possibility.

Each leg has four joints, so the embedded control system has to cope with 32 joints. Each joint has its own microprocessor, linked together with a high performance network, relaying data between the individual processors in real-time. Complex algorithms control not only the pitch, roll and yaw of the body, but also the force feedback of each leg in the different step sequences. Sensors on each joint relay the position of that joint in real-time, allowing the controlled area network to determine the joint control, the leg kinematics and what force is required though each leg's air supply.