Tactile sensing enables vertical obstacle negotiation for elongate many-legged robots

Published in Robotics: Science and Systems, 2025

We propose a tactile sensing and control framework that enables an elongated many-legged robot to perform rapid 3D behaviors, including climbing large obstacles in confined, unstructured environments. By fusing a tactile antenna for obstacle probing with binary foot-contact feedback, our controller adaptively regulates head pitch and vertical body undulation, achieving robust climbs up to five times the robot’s height in lab and outdoor trials.

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Recommended citation: He, Juntao, Baxi Chong, Meatano Iaschi, Vincent R. Nienhusser, Sehoon Ha, and Daniel I. Goldman. (2025). "Tactile sensing enables vertical obstacle negotiation for elongate many-legged robots." Robotics: Science and Systems.
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