Scaling down robots is a challenge that requires innovative design approaches. Current locomotion robots are often dependent on complex actuation schemes or multiple actuators, which limits their miniaturization. Integrating control of a mechanism into the body instead of using c
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Scaling down robots is a challenge that requires innovative design approaches. Current locomotion robots are often dependent on complex actuation schemes or multiple actuators, which limits their miniaturization. Integrating control of a mechanism into the body instead of using complex electrical control architectures can contribute greatly to the scalability of locomotion robots. This research proposes a compliant mechanism that converts a rectilinear input into a closed-loop End Effector (EE) trajectory. Six of these mechanisms are connected through a compliant transmission to form a walking hexapod with a tripod gait. The result is a robot where a single linear actuator creates a walking gait with zero internal friction. This research hereby paves the way towards scalable locomotion robots with a simple control architecture.