https://omerkurkutlu.github.io/authors/ali-okhovat/Ali OkhovatHugoBlox Kit (https://hugoblox.com)en-usFri, 28 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://omerkurkutlu.github.io/publications/salamander-icra-workshop-2025/Fri, 28 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://omerkurkutlu.github.io/publications/salamander-icra-workshop-2025/<h2 id="abstract">Abstract</h2> <p>Sprawling locomotion in vertebrates demonstrates how spinal mobility improves stability, maneuverability, and adaptability across complex terrain. This work introduces a hybrid locomotion framework that combines biologically inspired Hildebrand gait generation with deep reinforcement learning to control a salamander-inspired quadruped robot. Extensive simulation and real-world experiments show that integrating structured gait design with learning-based spinal control improves robustness, locomotion efficiency, and sim-to-real transfer compared with purely learning-based approaches.</p>