Walking on Rough Terrain with Any Number of Legs

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Chen, Zhuoyang, Wang, Xinyuan, Revzen, Shai
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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author Chen, Zhuoyang
Wang, Xinyuan
Revzen, Shai
author_facet Chen, Zhuoyang
Wang, Xinyuan
Revzen, Shai
contents Robotics would gain by replicating the remarkable agility of arthropods in navigating complex environments. Here we consider the control of multi-legged systems which have 6 or more legs. Current multi-legged control strategies in robots include large black-box machine learning models, Central Pattern Generator (CPG) networks, and open-loop feed-forward control with stability arising from mechanics. Here we present a multi-legged control architecture for rough terrain using a segmental robot with 3 actuators for every 2 legs, which we validated in simulation for robots with 6 to 16 legs. Segments have identical state machines, and each segment also receives input from the segment in front of it. Our design bridges the gap between WalkNet-like event cascade controllers and CPG-based controllers: it tightly couples to the ground when contact is present, but produces fictive locomotion when ground contact is missing. The approach may be useful as an adaptive and computationally lightweight controller for multi-legged robots, and as a baseline capability for scaffolding the learning of machine learning controllers.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_09147
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Walking on Rough Terrain with Any Number of Legs
Chen, Zhuoyang
Wang, Xinyuan
Revzen, Shai
Robotics
Robotics would gain by replicating the remarkable agility of arthropods in navigating complex environments. Here we consider the control of multi-legged systems which have 6 or more legs. Current multi-legged control strategies in robots include large black-box machine learning models, Central Pattern Generator (CPG) networks, and open-loop feed-forward control with stability arising from mechanics. Here we present a multi-legged control architecture for rough terrain using a segmental robot with 3 actuators for every 2 legs, which we validated in simulation for robots with 6 to 16 legs. Segments have identical state machines, and each segment also receives input from the segment in front of it. Our design bridges the gap between WalkNet-like event cascade controllers and CPG-based controllers: it tightly couples to the ground when contact is present, but produces fictive locomotion when ground contact is missing. The approach may be useful as an adaptive and computationally lightweight controller for multi-legged robots, and as a baseline capability for scaffolding the learning of machine learning controllers.
title Walking on Rough Terrain with Any Number of Legs
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.09147