ANYmal on Wheels

The invention of the wheel is one of the major technological advances of humankind. In daily life, it enables us to move faster and more efficiently compared to leg-based locomotion. However, the latter is more versatile and offers the possibility to negotiate challenging environments. Combining both strategies into one system offers great possibilities to achieve the best of both worlds. Therefore, we equipped our quadrupedal robot ANYmal with non-steerable, torque-controlled wheels to overcome the trade-off between mobility and efficiency. We believe that such kinds of systems offer the solution for many robotic tasks, e.g., rapid exploration, payload delivery, search and rescue, and industrial inspection.

We present novel a motion planner and controller which together enable ANYmal equipped with passive or powered wheels to perform hybrid locomotion, represented by an appropriate combination of driving and walking maneuvers. For further information, please contact .