Study on quadruped walking robot in Tokyo Institute of Technology-past, present and future

Though development of a practical walking robot is not easy at all, walking robots have many practical advantages resulting from moving functions peculiar to this type of robots including excellent moving characteristics and working characteristics on uneven land. It is cited as a worldwide problem that presently, many antipersonnel mines still remain buried everywhere in the world after the wars injuring many civilians. From humanitarian view points, establishment of a technology which ensures effective removal of mines with safe and inexpensive manner by civilians instead of very dangerous mine removal works done directly by hands is needed. Of specific features shared by walking machines, the authors have been developing a walking type work robot. This robot can walk freely around a buried mine area under extremely severe environments and carry out a series of works such as removal of obstacles before mine removal works, removal of shrubs, mine probing and eventual mine removal. The paper introduces the walking machines developed by the authors so far, a walking type mine removal robot being developed extensively at present and discusses themes and views of development of a practical type walking robot in the next generation which ensures stable movement and works on uneven land. The concept of development of a robot which will be engaged in probing and removal of mines from humanitarian view points is discussed too.