We report on the development of a novel two-degrees-of-freedom module capable of transforming its shape between a wheel and a leg, with the length of the latter approximately 3.4 times the wheel radius. The leg-wheel module was empirically built and experimentally evaluated. It utilizes a linkage mechanism and can perform a smooth yet rapid leg-wheel transition within 0.25 s. The design concept, selection of the linkage parameters, and kinematics are described in this paper. The rapid transition from a wheel to a leg endows the robot with wheel-to-leap behavior. The general motion planning strategy of the leg-wheel, as well as the wheel-to-leap behavior, are explained in the demonstration example. The results confirm that the module can perform wheel-to-leap behavior with a height of up to 4.6 times the wheel radius.

我们报告了一种新型的两自由度模块的开发，该模块能够在车轮和腿之间转换其形状，后者的长度约为车轮半径的3.4倍。腿轮模块是根据经验构建和实验评估的。它利用连杆机构，可以在0.25 s内执行平稳而快速的腿轮过渡。本文介绍了设计概念，链接参数的选择和运动学。从轮子到腿的快速过渡赋予了机器人从轮子到跳跃的行为。演示示例中说明了腿轮的一般运动计划策略以及轮到跳的行为。结果证实，该模块可以执行高达车轮半径4.6倍的轮对跳行为。