Building a hexapod robot prototype
Introduction
You have decided to build a six feet robot, also called hexapod robot. You would like to use your wild imagination to build your own autonomous or remote controlled prototype.Then you are in the right place!
Your project will require two types of investments:
- Time investment.
- Money investment.
Let us consider the following extreme scenarios:
- You are ready to invest an unlimited amount of time for your project and would like to build everything yourself.
- You have very little time to invest in your project and therefore want to buy a ready-to-use robot.
In the first scenario you might have to make concessions on the quality of your construction, depending on your know-how and the tools you have at disposal. You risk to end up with a feeling of frustration if the result is below expectations and the effort put into it is very high.
In the second scenario, you will not get the satisfaction of having made your own robot! You will also be limited in the use of the product because it was not programmed to meet your needs and the source code might not be available for modification.
Hexapod-Kit is the good compromise you are looking for. It offers you the set of mechanical, electronic and software elements needed for building your robot, but leaves you with the flexibility of organizing your creation.
The mechanical base has been studied to work with a low-budget servo-motor.
The universal electronic control card integrates the necessary functions: Reception of the command, management of 21 servo-motors, regulation of the battery tension.
The PC software source code is available under the OpenSource license, offering you the possibility of adapting the functionality of the robot to your needs.
The Theory section of this web site offers a tutorial explaining how to apply mathematical methods in order to make your robot walk, turn, incline itself (inverse kinematics and trigonometry).
Micro-Base
A mechanical base made of composite materials, combining light weight and aesthetics for your hexapod robot project.
Electronics
The universal and remote controller controls up to 21 servo-motors at a time. It is of reduced dimensions and has a single power supply allowing rapid integration to your micro hexapod robot.
Spare parts
Legs, frame and other parts from the Micro-base kit enable you to create your own hexapode robot prototype.
Theory
Inverse kinematics and trigonometry resolution for the control of an hexapod robot.A tutorial describes the resolution of inverse kinematics mathematical equations, i.e. fundamentals for controlling your walking robot.
