LunarLeaper: From Simulation to Hardware for Lunar Legged Locomotion
- Paper ID
103854
- DOI
- author
- company
ETHZ
- country
Switzerland
- year
2025
- abstract
Following a successful Mission Concept Review in April 2025, the LunarLeaper team is advancing the design of a 15 kg legged robot for exploring lunar pits. The review established Level 0/1 requirements and a concept of operations, highlighting challenges in locomotion maturity (TRL 4), thermal/power constraints, and dust mitigation. To address these, we are refining locomotion strategies through Level 2/3 requirement flow-down and a comparative analysis of candidate designs, including a dynamic, quasi-direct-drive quadruped and a high-gear-ratio hexapod. Gait simulations using detailed actuator models inform both mechanical design and reinforcement learning-based control. Unlike traditional sizing methods based on static worst-case loads, our simulation-driven co-design captures dynamic joint behavior and enables more efficient actuator use. We are developing control policies that promote power sharing across limbs, allowing standardized actuators at each joint. This iterative approach offers a path toward simplified, modular hardware well suited for the demands of dynamic planetary exploration.