Development of an adaptive hexapod robot based on Followthecontactpoint gait control and Timekeeper control In this paper, a new control method for a hexapod robot walking on irregular terrain based on a human operatorxe2x80x99s footplacement navigation is proposed and evaluated. The control method is based on the Followthecontactpoint (FCP) gait control that operates on the principle that each leg follows the contact point of its foreleg. Hence, planning the contact points for all the legs are summarized to one of the front legs. To dedicate the FCP gait control to a hexapod robot, three control architectures are added. First, new constraints in the transition from a stance phase to a swing phase are added to maintain static stability when a leg leaves the ground. Second, a realtime posture control system for contacting legs is added. The third is an adaptive control to adjust the time elapsed in each control mode, by which specifications of deadlockfree and static stability are satisfied. The proposed control architecture is installed to a small hexapod robot, and its performance is evaluated through experiments wherein the robot walks on uneven terrain.

Neural Control with an Artificial Hormone System for EnergyEfficient Compliant Terrain Locomotion and Adaptation of Walking Robots In order to use walking robots for exploration in a real complex environment, an adaptive control system is required to allow them to successfully and efficiently traverse the terrains. To achieve this, we propose here our adaptive locomotion control technique of a walking robot. It is based on a modular structure, combining neural control with an artificial hormone system. The neural control coordinates all leg joints of the robot and generates its locomotion with various insectlike gaits. In parallel, the artificial hormone system uses the motor commands from the neural control and foot contact feedback to estimate the walking state and automatically adapt the joint movements with respect to the terrain. The adaptability is quickly achieved in an online manner within a few seconds. Robot walking experiments show that this adaptive control technique enables a sixlegged robot to adapt to various difficult terrains with energy efficiency. Such terrains include sand (loose ground), sponge with different softness levels (softcompliant ground), grass (vegetated ground), and floorpavement (hard ground). The technique does not require robot kinematics or an environmental model; and can, therefore, be potentially applied to different legged robots to achieve stable online adaptation and energyefficient locomotion on unpredictable (compliant) terrains.