Humanoid Robot LOLA– Research Platform for High-speed Walking

This paper describes the design concept of the performance enhanced humanoid robot LOLA. Our goal is to realize a fast, human-like walking motion. The robot has 22 degrees of freedom, including 7-DoF legs with actively driven toe joints. It is characterized by its lightweight construction, a modular, multi-sensory joint design with brushless motors and an electronics architecture using decentralized joint controllers. Special emphasis was paid on an improved mass distribution of the leg apparatus to achieve good dynamic performance. The sensor system comprises absolute angular sensors in all links, two custom-made force/torque sensors in the feet and a high-precision inertial sensor on the upper body. The trajectory generation and control system currently being developed aim at faster, more flexible, and more robust walking patterns.