{"684821":{"#nid":"684821","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Crawling Faster, Clambering Higher","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELegged robots capable of traversing difficult terrain and uncertain environments could be revolutionary in applications from defense to mining to disaster search and rescue. Research into the development of motion controls for bipedal and quadrupedal robots has recently made great strides.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETests in highly controlled environments for bipedal robots and varied terrain in quadrupeds show promise, but the costs and complexity required to equip these robots with the sensors needed to navigate create a huge barrier to deployment at scale. In contrast, low-profile multilegged robots with redundant contacts eliminate the need for costly visual and LIDAR systems and are poised to be deployed commercially in the agricultural sector.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese multilegged locomoting systems, though less complex and costly, come with their own technological challenges that impact speed and vertical maneuverability due to the robotic design\u2019s high degree degrees of freedom and visual sensing limitations due to height in relation to environment. To address these challenges, Juntao He, a Ph.D. student in the group of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/daniel-goldman\u0022\u003EDaniel Goldman\u003C\/a\u003E, Professor in the School of Physics at Georgia Tech, led a pair of research papers that paves the way to make these bots able to move faster and climb higher in challenging environments. The work is in collaboration with Baxi Chong, now \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/baxichong\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eassistant professor at The Pennsylvania State University\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, as well as others in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/crablab.gatech.edu\/index.html\u0022\u003EGoldman\u2019s lab\u003C\/a\u003E, in a multidisciplinary collaboration to improve these cost-effective little bots.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo enhance speed on varied terrain, the researchers used a multilegged segmented robot equipped with three motors for pitch and yaw and leg tip mounted force sensors onboard each segment. Inspired by the movement of centipedes, the team added vertical body undulation coordinated with horizontal undulation and leg stepping. The additional vertical movement mitigates the environmental elements that impact forward motion, allowing the robot to move across multiple surfaces without a loss of speed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;The many-legged robot demonstrates impressive 2.5D mobility in unstructured environments with minimal sensing. What\u2019s next? Our goal is to integrate greater intelligence into the robot, enabling it to make decisions and navigate effectively\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003Ein the open world. - Juntao He\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo enable greater vertical obstacle navigation, Goldman\u2019s team used the same robotic setup with the addition of tactile antenna to investigate impediments and a control system that integrates data from the antenna and the force sensors on the legs. This integrated data prompts the robot to adjust head placement and optimize the vertical undulation waves to climb the probed object. Using this efficient sensor system, the team\u2019s robot reliably scaled obstacles five times its height in a controlled laboratory setting and performed equally well in outdoor testing. The team is working with Georgia Tech Commercialization and Goldman\u2019s startup, Ground Control Robotics, Inc.*\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E-Christa M. Ernst\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EResearch Communications Program Manager\u003Cbr\u003EKlaus Advance Computing Building 1120E | 266 Ferst Drive | Atlanta GA | 30332\u003Cbr\u003ETopic Expertise: Robotics | Data Sciences | Semiconductor Design \u0026amp; Fab\u003Cbr\u003Echrista.ernst@research.gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPublications Referenced\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ieeexplore.ieee.org\/document\/11098164?source=authoralert\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022https:\/\/ieeexplore.ieee.org\/document\/11098164?source=authoralert\u0022\u003EProbabilistic Approach to Feedback Control Enhances Multilegged Locomotion on Rugged Landscapes\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/arxiv.org\/pdf\/2504.08615\u0022\u003ETactile sensing enables vertical obstacle negotiation for elongate many-legged robots\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E*Disclaimer: Daniel Goldman has an equity interest in Ground Control Robotics, Inc. (GCR).\u0026nbsp;GCR develops robots for locomotion in complex environments.\u0026nbsp; GCR may potentially benefit financially from the research findings on locomoting systems presented here.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Dual publications highlight advances in multilegged robot motion"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJuntao He, a Ph.D. student in the group of Daniel Goldman, Professor in the School of Physics at Georgia Tech led a pair of research papers that paves the way to make these bots able to move faster and climb higher in challenging environments. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Dual publications highlight advances in multilegged robot motion"}],"uid":"27863","created_gmt":"2025-09-12 19:02:09","changed_gmt":"2025-09-17 16:59:17","author":"Christa Ernst","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-09-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-09-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"677990":{"id":"677990","type":"image","title":"Crawling Faster Goldman Juntao Publication","body":"\u003Cp\u003EA centipede based multi-legged robot exhibiting locomotion on rugged landscapes\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1757703073","gmt_created":"2025-09-12 18:51:13","changed":"1757703215","gmt_changed":"2025-09-12 18:53:35","alt":"A centipede based multi-legged robot exhibiting locomotion on rugged landscapes","file":{"fid":"261959","name":"Fig1.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/09\/12\/Fig1.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/09\/12\/Fig1.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1459688,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/09\/12\/Fig1.png?itok=rQbN3wIu"}}},"media_ids":["677990"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"188087","name":"go-irim"},{"id":"187582","name":"go-ibb"},{"id":"172970","name":"go-neuro"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EChrista M. Ernst\u003Cbr\u003EResearch Communications Program Manager\u003Cbr\u003EKlaus Advance Computing Building 1120E | 266 Ferst Drive | Atlanta GA | 30332\u003Cbr\u003ETopic Expertise: Robotics | Data Sciences | Semiconductor Design \u0026amp; Fab\u003Cbr\u003Echrista.ernst@research.gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["christa.ernst@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}