• CN: 11-2187/TH
  • ISSN: 0577-6686

Journal of Mechanical Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 62 ›› Issue (13): 22-40.doi: 10.3901/JME.260688

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Overview and Prospect of Development of Multimodal Locomotion Robot

ZHAO Yuhang, CHEN Cheng, ZHUANG Xinghan, ZI Peijin, CHEN Jiawei, XU Kun, DING Xilun   

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing 100191
  • Received:2025-06-03 Revised:2025-12-23 Published:2026-08-28

Abstract: With the rapid development of mobile robot technology, traditional single motion mode mobile robots are no longer able to meet the application needs in complex environments. Multi-mode mobile robots have become a research hotspot due to their excellent environmental adaptability and task execution capabilities. This article reviews the research progress of multimodal mobile robots in the past fifteen years, with a focus on exploring their key technological challenges and future development directions. Firstly, the main classification system and research directions of multi-mode mobile robots were elaborated; Secondly, an in-depth analysis was conducted on the three key technological bottlenecks that constrain the development of multimodal mobile robots: quality reuse technology, motion control technology, and path planning technology; Finally, the future development trends were discussed from the aspects of structural design optimization, motion coupling control, and intelligent path planning. It was pointed out that achieving intelligence, modularity, biomimicry, and cluster collaboration of multi-mode mobile robots is an important research direction. The research provides new ideas for breaking through the technological limitations of multimodal mobile robots and has important theoretical significance for promoting the development of this field.

Key words: multi-mode mobile robot, environmental adaptability, quality reuse, motion control, path planning

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