Terrain-Dependent Intra-Cycle Leg Timing for Effective Locomotion on Granular Slopes

What happened

arXiv:2610.04144v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Locomotion on granular slopes such as sand dunes remains a fundamental challenge for legged robots due to reduced shear strength and gravity-induced anisotropic yielding of granular media. The model reveals that slope-induced performance loss is primarily governed by delayed anchoring and increased backward slip rather than excessive sinkage.

While normal penetration resistance remains nearly unchanged with inclination, shear resistance decreases substantially as slope angle increases. This physics-informed framework provides predictive insight into terrain-dependent failure mechanisms and offers guidance for safer and more robust robot operation on deformable inclines.

Key facts

• This physics-informed framework — provides: predictive insight into terrain-dependent failure mechanisms and offers guidance for safer and more robust robot operation on deformable inclines