Terminatorbot: A Novel Robot with Dual-Use Mechanism for Locomotion and Manipulation

system, TerminatorBot, a novel, centimeter-scale crawling robot has been developed to address applications in surveillance, search-and-rescue, and planetary exploration. Its two 3 degreeof-freedom arms, which stow inside the cylindrical body for ballistic deployment and protected transport, comprise a dualuse mechanism for manipulation and locomotion. The intended applications require a small, rugged, and lightweight robot, hence the desire for dual-use. TerminatorBot’s unique mechanism provides mobility and fine manipulation on a scale currently unavailable. To facilitate manipulation, we have also developed a specialized force/torque sensor. This new sensor design has a biased distribution of flexures, which equalizes force and torque sensitivities at the operational point. This paper describes the mechanism and design of TerminatorBot, the specialized force/torque sensor, and the mechanism-specific gaits. Index Terms — robotics, mobile manipulation, force sensor, TerminatorBo