Hexapod robots represent complex and highly redundant robotic systems capable of handling various tasks in extreme environments, such as planetary exploration and disaster response. To enhance the terrain adaptability and maneuverability of hexapod robots, we present a novel multimodal hexapod robot in this research. Our multimodal hexapod robot design incorporates knee joints with an improved multiparallel quadrilateral transmission mechanism, addressing singularity issues commonly encountered in legged robots. This enhancement not only improves the mechanical transmission characteristics of the knee joints but also increases the workspace of a single leg to achieve leg‐arm reuse functionality. In the presence of flat and structured terrain, the robot seamlessly switches to a wheeled locomotion mode, enabling swift traversal. Conversely, when faced with rough and unstructured terrain, it transitions into a legged mode, employing adaptive gait stability to navigate effectively. A novel operational mode in which the hexapod robot utilizes four legs for body support, while the remaining two legs are repurposed as arms is proposed. This innovative approach empowers the hexapod robot to perform dual‐arm manipulation without the need for additional degrees of freedom for the manipulator. To validate the effectiveness of our designed hexapod robot and multimodal motion planning algorithm, comprehensive experimental testing has been conducted, demonstrating the practicality and versatility of our system.

中文翻译：

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改进膝关节六足机器人的设计与多模态运动方案

六足机器人代表了复杂且高度冗余的机器人系统，能够在极端环境下处理各种任务，例如行星探索和灾难响应。为了增强六足机器人的地形适应性和机动性，我们在本研究中提出了一种新型多模态六足机器人。我们的多模式六足机器人设计将膝关节与改进的多平行四边形传动机构相结合，解决了腿式机器人中常见的奇点问题。这一增强不仅改善了膝关节的机械传动特性，而且增加了单腿的工作空间，以实现腿臂复用功能。在平坦且结构化的地形中，机器人可以无缝切换到轮式运动模式，从而实现快速穿越。相反，当面对崎岖和非结构化地形时，它会转换为腿模式，利用自适应步态稳定性来有效导航。提出了一种新颖的操作模式，其中六足机器人利用四条腿作为身体支撑，而其余两条腿被重新用作手臂。这种创新方法使六足机器人能够执行双臂操纵，而无需为操纵器提供额外的自由度。为了验证我们设计的六足机器人和多模态运动规划算法的有效性，进行了全面的实验测试，证明了我们系统的实用性和多功能性。