Hey, guys! I would like to share with you my new project: mechDOG (quadruped robot based on Arduino).

Mechanics

The chassis is made of aluminum (1.5mm thick sheet cut by hand), as shown in the video below.

There are other parts also made by hand, using high impact polystyrene, such as the head and the brackets for the sets of legs.

The legs are based on Lynxmotion Smart Servos (LSS), with 3x ST1 on each leg, and additional brackets from the Servo Erector Set.

Electronics

The brain of mechDOG is an Arduino Uno, which works in conjunction with an LSS Adapter Board (for connection and control of servo motors).

The robot is powered by a 3s LiPo battery.

It has an nRF24L01 module with antenna to receive commands from a remote control.

In his head there are two ultrasonic sensors that can be used to avoid obstacles.

Programming

The programming was all done with the Arduino IDE.

The walk is based on "step phases". Each step has four step phases (four "small steps" to complete a step).

To find the angles that each step phase needs to reach, I created a 2D model that simulates the legs, and with an on-screen protractor I obtained the angles.

To reach each step phase, the code has a function that calculates the difference between the target position and the previous position, and returns the increment in angles that must be performed.

What can mechDOG do?

mechDOG can walk dynamically with mass balance, can trot and turn.

Other movements are still being developed.