This paper examines how simple control laws stabilize complex running behaviors such as bounding. First, we reveal and discuss the unexpectedly different local and global forward speed versus touchdown angle relationships in the self stabilized SLIP model. Then we show that, surprisingly, even for a much more complex, energy conserving quadruped model, many cyclic bounding motions exist, which ...

We consider the problem of finding optimal gaits for a quadruped robot. Paths are sought which minimize the actuation energy required for walking in an attempt to approximate natural motion. The number of possible gaits for a quadruped is quite large when one considers varied orders of leg motion, different liftoff times, and various ground contact combinations for the legs. The problem is trea...

Several behaviors of living things seem to be consequences of combinations of simple reflexes. By this hypothesis, emergence of walk of a quadruped robot is demonstrated by a combination of two reflexes in this paper. One reflex is to move its body according to movement of a target object which the robot gaze at, a vision-cued swaying reflex. The other is a gait reflex, a gait of a free leg so ...

The authors have proposed a dynamic turning control system of a quadruped robot by using nonlinear oscillators. It is composed of a spontaneous locomotion controller and voluntary motion controller. In this article, capability of dynamic turning motion of the proposed control system is verified through numerical simulations and hardware experiments: Various turning speed and orientation make th...

In the growing field of rehabilitation robotics, the modelling of a real robot is a complex and passionate challenge. On the crossing point of mechanics, physics and computer-science, the development of a complete 3D model involves the knowledge of the different physic properties, for an accurate simulation. In this paper, it is proposed the design of an efficient three-dimensional model of the...

This paper presents a GA (Genetic Algorithm) approach to the development of locomotion gait for Sony quadruped robots. The selection of GA parameters such as the population size and recombination methods is made to be flexible and strive towards optimal performance autonomously. An interactive software environment with an overhead CCD camera is used to evaluate the performance of the generated ...

We propose an analog CMOS circuit for developing a biologically-inspired locomotion controller for a quadruped walking robot. The proposed circuit is based on the biological neural network, called the central pattern generator (CPG), that can generate rhythmic movements for locomotion of animals, such as walking, running, swimming, and flying. We constructed a CPG model from the WilsonCowan neu...

Gait study on quadruped robots with a locked joint failure is discussed in this paper. The quadruped robot has a moving appendage which, attached onto the robot body, serves as a controllable apparatus that changes the equivalent position of the center of gravity. We propose a crab gait sequence for the quaruped robot to continue its static walking despite an occurrence of a locked joint failur...

Various robotic quadrupeds have been introduced to investigate the realization of dynamically-stable running behaviors. The majority of these platforms involve rigid, nondeformable torsos, a feature that distinguishes them from their counterparts in the animal world, which owe much of their remarkable locomotion abilities to their flexible bodies. Only a few quadrupedal robots employ torso flex...