Rat-Robot Autonomous Navigation System Based on Wearable Sensors

Biorobots, especially roach robots and rat robots, are great candidates for rescue and search applications in tight spaces because of their excellent mobility and environmental adaptability. However, there is currently no suitable solution for the localization and locomotion control of an individual biorobot. In this article, we present a novel rat-robot system that can automatically navigate a rat robot based on onboard sensors. A wearable embedded system, including a backpack and an exoskeleton, was designed. A localization algorithm based on dead reckoning and a locomotion control algorithm were developed. The proposed system was tested in a locomotion control experiment. The results show that the system could effectively navigate the rat robot along the specified path and accurately record the locomotion trajectory. This work provides a precondition for the application of rat robots in real-life missions. In the near future, rat robots are expected to automatically carry out search-and-rescue tasks by adding environmental detection sensors to the current system.