Best Approach for Controlling 3 Motors per Leg on a Quadruped Robot?

    Hey everyone,

    I'm currently working on a quadruped robot with 3 motors per leg, totaling 12 brushless motors. Initially, I considered using a separate ESC for each motor but am concerned about the added complexity in terms of space, programming, and cable management.

    I'm aiming to power all motors effectively while maintaining precise control over each. I'd appreciate your insights on:

    - The most efficient way to manage these motors.

    - Recommended types of encoders for precision.

    - Compatibility with Raspberry Pi or Jetson Nano for control.

    Looking forward to your suggestions and experiences with similar setups!

  • 95devils March 19, 2024 at 8:51 PM

    Approved the thread.

    I don't see how you can avoid having an ESC per motor. It's not like you can multiplex them.

    James Brouton's YT channel has some of the best examples of quadrapeds (and many other odd kinematics) I've seen. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUbDcUPed50Y_7KmfCXKohA

    His work on OpenDog is very well documented and open source.

    Your choice of encoders is going to be driven more by what fits -- there's plenty of relatively cheap encoders these days that have over a thousand steps/rev. You'll have to choose if you're attaching them to the motor directly, or further down the gear train.

    A Pi usually isn't going to have the speed to run these motors -- the control loops need to be much tighter. Most often, a Pi or equivalent is used as a supervisory control (keeping the legs coordinated with each other) while the motors are directly run by smaller, higher-speed microcontrollers.

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