Design of a Wheeled Bipedal Robot

Abstract

Wheeled bipedal robots bridge the gap between wheeled robots and legged robots to take full advantage of these two forms of locomotion. These robots have the ability to not only move quickly and efficiently on smooth surfaces, but also navigate harsher terrains and interact with obstacles. The field of wheeled legged robots is currently understudied and has the potential for significant growth. This thesis aims to provide a design for a wheeled bipedal robot which can be adapted and modified by research groups in order to help advance studies in this field. All design choices were considered with total cost and manufacturability in mind such that this robot can easily be built with minimal equipment and tools. The initial design laid out in this project acts as a hardware and electronic starting point for others to reference in order to build their own wheeled bipedal robot to suit their research application.