Title
Towards dynamic trot gait locomotion: Design, control, and experiments with Cheetah-cub, a compliant quadruped robot
Abstract
We present the design of a novel compliant quadruped robot, called Cheetah-cub, and a series of locomotion experiments with fast trotting gaits. The robot's leg configuration is based on a spring-loaded, pantograph mechanism with multiple segments. A dedicated open-loop locomotion controller was derived and implemented. Experiments were run in simulation and in hardware on flat terrain and with a step down, demonstrating the robot's self-stabilizing properties. The robot reached a running trot with short flight phases with a maximum Froude number of FR = 1.30, or 6.9 body lengths per second. Morphological parameters such as the leg design also played a role. By adding distal in-series elasticity, self-stability and maximum robot speed improved. Our robot has several advantages, especially when compared with larger and stiffer quadruped robot designs. (1) It is, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the fastest of all quadruped robots below 30kg (in terms of Froude number and body lengths per second). (2) It shows self-stabilizing behavior over a large range of speeds with open-loop control. (3) It is lightweight, compact, and electrically powered. (4) It is cheap, easy to reproduce, robust, and safe to handle. This makes it an excellent tool for research of multi-segment legs in quadruped robots.
Year
DOI
Venue
2013
10.1177/0278364913489205
I. J. Robotic Res.
Keywords
Field
DocType
self-stabilizing quadruped locomotion,three-segment,pantograph,robotic leg design,passive compliance,robust locomotion,coupled oscillator,drive function
Robot control,Control theory,Pantograph,Gait,Control theory,Simulation,Control engineering,Robot locomotion,Robot,Froude number,Mobile robot,Mathematics
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
32
8
0278-3649
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
70
3.13
20
Authors
6
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Alexander Spröwitz123315.87
Alexandre Tuleu21246.96
Massimo Vespignani313911.02
Mostafa Ajallooeian41257.73
Emilie Badri5703.13
Auke Jan Ijspeert63546282.93