Motivation: A linear spring-like leg behavior is found in human and animal running [4, 2]. Although some technical systems were able to mimic running with such elastic legs within a range of different speeds and gaits [7, 8] it is still not known why biological legs employ this behavior. Until now there is no running robot with segmented legs. With regard to the reduced contact times at high sp...

Running efficiently and successfully over unstructured terrain is an important and necessary characteristic for modern legged robots. Research suggests that a necessary step toward achieving this goal is to design legged robots with variable leg stiffness capabilities which can be controlled by the robot autonomously. The specific problem addressed in this research is to develop a wireless (inf...

This paper presents the design, modeling, analysis, and experimental results of a novel bipedal robotic system that utilizes two interconnected single degree-of-freedom (DOF) leg mechanisms to produce stable forward locomotion steering. The DOF is actuated via Reuleaux triangle cam-follower mechanism constant body height foot trajectory. Kinematic analysis dimension selection conducted first ge...

In human spinal cord injury (SCI), imposed unilateral hip movements trigger multijoint, coordinated reflexes that might incorporate interneuronal circuitry involved in normal motor control, such as neural pathways associated with the reflex control of locomotion. To further investigate the complexity of these hip-triggered reflexes, we measured the effects of kinematics of the contralateral hip...

Compliant elements in the leg musculoskeletal system appear to be important not only for running but also for walking in human locomotion as shown in the energetics and kinematics studies of spring-mass model. While the spring-mass model assumes a whole leg as a linear spring, it is still not clear how the compliant elements of muscle-tendon systems behave in a human-like segmented leg structur...

Legged locomotion is the most common behavior of terrestrial animals and it is assumed to have become highly optimized during evolution. Quadrupeds, for instance, use distinct gaits that are optimal with regard to metabolic cost and have characteristic kinematic features and patterns of inter-leg coordination. In insects, the situation is not as clear. In general, insects are able to alter inte...

It has been suggested that a feedforward control mechanism drives the adaptation of the spatial and temporal interlimb locomotion variables. However, the internal representation of limb kinetics during split-belt locomotion has not yet been studied. In hand movements, it has been suggested that kinetic and kinematic parameters are controlled by separate neural processes; therefore, it is possib...

Robot Hardware The bipedal robot ATRIAS has been developed for efficient and versatile locomotion. Its design was inspired by the spring-mass model, which has been proposed as a template for hopping, running and walking [1, 2]. The 60kg robot walks on two legs of 0.9m maximum length which are driven by two motors each, sharing the load of extending and rotating the leg. A carbon-fiber leaf spri...

What are the common design and control principles of legged locomotion? To approach this question we ask about the internal leg function, e.g. the number of leg segments, the arrangements of muscles, ligaments and other soft tissue within the leg and the appropriate muscle activation patterns in order to generate a desired leg behavior. On the other hand we need to integrate the leg into an ove...

Adaptability is a fundamental yet challenging requirement for mobile robot locomotion. This article presents $\alpha$ -WaLTR, new adaptive wheel-and-leg transformable versatile multiterrain mobility. The has four passively wheels, where...