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Achieving Versatile Energy Efficiency With the WANDERER Biped Robot

Journal Article · · IEEE Transactions on Robotics
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  1. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
  2. Open Source Robotics Foundation, Mountain View, CA (United States)
  3. Florida Inst. for Human and Machine Cognition, Pensacola, FL (United States)

Legged humanoid robots promise revolutionary mobility and effectiveness in environments built for humans. However, inefficient use of energy significantly limits their practical adoption. The humanoid biped walking anthropomorphic novelly-driven efficient robot for emergency response (WANDERER) achieves versatile, efficient mobility, and high endurance via novel drive-trains and passive joint mechanisms. Results of a test in which WANDERER walked for more than 4 h and covered 2.8 km on a treadmill, are presented. Results of laboratory experiments showing even more efficient walking are also presented and analyzed in this article. WANDERER's energetic performance and endurance are believed to exceed the prior literature in human-scale humanoid robots. This article describes WANDERER, the analytical methods and innovations that enable its design, and system-level energy efficiency results.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000
OSTI ID:
1607501
Report Number(s):
SAND-2020-0584J; 682938
Journal Information:
IEEE Transactions on Robotics, Vol. 36, Issue 3; ISSN 1552-3098
Publisher:
IEEECopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 10 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science