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  4. FLEXIV: Adaptive Locomotion via Morphological Changes in a Flexible Track Vehicle
 
research article

FLEXIV: Adaptive Locomotion via Morphological Changes in a Flexible Track Vehicle

Kim, Sareum  
•
Filimonov, Daniil  
•
Hughes, Josie  
2025
IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine

Flexible and adaptive tracked robots show the capacity to navigate in unstructured terrain, with a passive adaption of the track or a morphology change for terrain adaptation. Extending the concept to one in which the morphology can be actively changed has the potential to increase the capabilities of a locomoting robot while reducing the need for complex controllers and onboard navigation systems. This article introduces FLEXIV, a 232-g untethered robotic vehicle with flexible, magnet-equipped tracks that achieves adaptive locomotion across diverse geometries of ferrous terrains with appropriate transitioning of its track shape from circular to oblong. By modulating the configuration of a track loop, the robot can adjust its driving capability, such as traction and steering ability, to optimize its behavior to the terrain. This deformable robot is combined with an autonomous controller that leverages only robot posture information through inertial measurement units (IMUs) for terrain estimation to autonomously adapt the robot’s configuration to the environment. This enables the robot to autonomously navigate complex terrains, including diverse slopes and steps, and offers recovery actions for extreme falls.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1109/MRA.2025.3577162
Scopus ID

2-s2.0-105010716453

Author(s)
Kim, Sareum  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Filimonov, Daniil  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Hughes, Josie  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Date Issued

2025

Published in
IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine
Subjects

Robots

•

Mobile robots

•

Shape

•

Tracking

•

Vehicles

•

Wheels

•

Morphology

•

Deformation

•

Bending

•

Navigation

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
CREATE-LAB  
FunderFunding(s)Grant NumberGrant URL

Future Food Initiative

Available on Infoscience
July 25, 2025
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/252527
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