Abstract

Rough-terrain exploration is critical for applications ranging from post-disaster search-and-rescue to planetary exploration. While conventional wheeled or bipedal robots often struggle in these environments, biological organisms like myriapods demonstrate superior adaptability. Inspired by this, we present Flexipede—a compact, modular robotic system that employs a hybrid actuation architecture, wherein each module integrates a single actuator for propulsive gait generation and a secondary actuator to enable distributed yaw control. The platform is fully 3D-printable and cost-effective, with a fabrication cost of approximately $58 for the primary unit and $10 per additional module. Analytical kinematic modeling was employed to optimize linkage trajectories, with experimental results validating the system across six modular configurations and three distinct environments, including flat, rough, and inclined terrains. The platform achieved locomotion speeds up to 9 cm/s and navigated obstacles up to 32 mm high, while linkage path deviations remained functionally negligible (mean deviation of 3.24%) compared to analytical prediction. Turning performance converged with theoretical predictions as modular scaling increased, reaching a minimum deviation of 4.51% for the five-module configuration. Across all terrains, the system maintained a competitive average Cost of Transportation (CoT) of 18.01, with stair climbing requiring a relatively higher CoT due to the elevated torque demands associated with vertical displacement. These results establish Flexipede as a high-performance benchmark for modular myriapod systems with significant potential for adaptive morphological research.

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