Miniature Wheel-Leg Mobile Robots

Mini-Whegs™ are small mobile robots, designed according to abstracted cockroach locomotion principles, that can run and can climb obstacles taller than themselves. Mini-Whegs are derived from larger mobile robots denoted Whegs™, with modifications to reduce size, reduce the number of mechanisms, and increase relative mobility. The name "Whegs" originated as a contraction of "wheel-legs," referring to three-spoke appendages by means of which these robots move, as described below.