Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Publication Date

Winter 12-18-2017


The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and develop a framework for connected six-legged robots which can be used as a Robotic Operating System (ROS) based research platform. The research presented aims to purvey the necessary engineering and scientific steps needed to evolve a consumer-grade connected toy into a fully functioning and highly capable robotic system. Such a platform can be used to simulate and implement novel biologically inspired swarm research. Crawling robots have the advantage of being able to scale terrains which wheeled mobile robots may not and possess many interesting characteristics. The miniROaCH, miniature ROS-enabled and Crawling Hexapod, is a lightweight and small-scale robot which is able to navigate and traverse unknown and uneven terrain. The miniROaCH robot was designed to utilize both commercially accessible components and 3D printable parts. With a 1GHz single-core on-board processor and an 8MP high-definition camera, the platform allows for situational awareness, object avoidance and mapping capabilities. Furthermore, each miniROaCH is capable of running either centralized or distributed control algorithms, making the platform an excellent choice for cost-effective swarm robotic research. This thesis presents a system's architecture on both a hardware and software level. A low-level velocity controller is implemented and the results are shown. Additionally, a high-level controller has been used to provide position control for the system. Using internal feedback from on-board sensors and visual landmarks within the environment, the miniROaCH robot is able to estimate its position and orientation within the world frame of reference. This allows the miniROaCH to navigate environments without the need for external sensors, providing the robot with a high level of autonomy. The development of the miniROaCH is documented and applications are explored.


miniROaCH, robot, controls, robotics, hexapod

Document Type




Degree Name

Electrical Engineering

Level of Degree


Department Name

Electrical and Computer Engineering

First Committee Member (Chair)

Dr. Rafael Fierro

Second Committee Member

Dr. Melanie Moses

Third Committee Member

Dr. Francesco Sorrentino