Dynamic rolling analysis of triangular-bipyramid robot

In this paper a rolling robot resembling the shape of a triangular-bipyramid is proposed. The robot has three degrees of freedom and is formed by connecting two tripod mechanisms with three spherical joints. By kinematic analysis, the robot can be viewed as a planar four-bar linkage. Further, its dynamic rolling ability is discussed by Zero Moment Point (ZMP) analysis. We show that the robot has the capability to roll, adjust its step length, and switch rolling directions. These functions are verified by a series of simulations with a CAD (computer-aided design) model and experiments with a prototype.