Kangyu Wang, Zhiyun Jiang, Haibo Feng, Weijia Zhao, Lin Liu, Jianguo Li, Zhenzhong Lan, Weiyao Lin. Proceedings of the 64th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics (Volume 1: Long Papers). 2026.

In this paper, the configuration transformation of Wheel-Legged Robot (WLR) is studied, which can enable the robot to change its multilinks configuration on Inverted Equilibrium Manifold (IEM), while keeping balance with a small location drift on the floor. First of all, the general form of dynamics equation of planar Articulated Wheeled Inverted Pendulum (AWIP) with a wheel and n − 1 rigid links, is derived. The Partial Feedback Linearization (PFL) combined with a Sliding Mode Control (SMC) is used to design the inverse dynamics controller of AWIP, while considering full dynamics terms. The well-known WLR model is used as a simple example of AWIP to accomplish the configuration transformation task. An optimization based configuration transformation algorithm is proposed to realize a comprehensive optimization of the shortest path in joint space and the minimum location drift of WLR on the floor. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated through simulation to implement the configuration transformation task.

The performance of traditional hydraulic robots is often limited by their hoses across moving joints or connecting hydraulic drive units, which would reduce their mobility and impede their ability to operate in complex environment. In response to this deficiency, this paper introduces the WLR-II (the second generation of wheel-legged robot), a novel hydraulic wheel-legged robot developed by using hose-less design approach which is focused on improving the reliability of the hydraulic system and perfecting the appearance of the robot. As its notable features, seven Hydraulic Hose-less Joints (HHJ) that include a pair of high and also low pressure oil pipes based on rotary seal, Cylinder-Valve-Skeleton (CVS) integration thighs and arms which are produced by subtractive manufacturing as well as oscillating cylinders driven by gear rack transmission are included. In addition to a description of its design, experimental characterizations of rough pavement adaptability and payload capability together with the achievement of the reliability of hydraulic system are also demonstrated. As a result, we confirmed effectiveness of the hose-less design by moving on the rugged ground, climbing slope, squatting with load, dragging and picking up a heavy load. To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first time that the design of a hose-less hydraulic wheel-legged robot has been presented.

Wheel-legged hybrid robot with multi-modal locomotion can efficiently adapt to different terrain environments, as well as realize rapid maneuver on flat ground. We have developed a novel hydraulic wheel-legged robot (WLR) combined with a humanoid structural design. This robot can assist to emergency scenarios where the high mobility, adaptability and robustness are required. The paper introduces the details of the WLR, highlighting the innovative design and optimization of physical construction which is considered to maximize the mobile abilities, enhance the environmental adaptability and improve the reliability of hydraulic system. Firstly, maximizing the mobile abilities includes optimizing the configuration of each actuator and integrating them with the structure, so as to achieve a large range of movement and also reduce the mass and inertia of the legs. Secondly, the environmental adaptability can be ensured with a magnetorheological (MR) fluid-based damper and direct-drive wheels. Thirdly, improving the reliability of hydraulic system involves using the selective laser melting (SLM) technology to integrate hydraulic system and reducing the number of exposed tubes. The maneuverability of the WLR is demonstrated with a series of experiments. At present, the WLR can perform the following operations, including moving on the flat ground, squatting, and picking up a heavy load.