Numerical Simulations of Level-Ground Walking Based on Passive Walk for Planar Biped Robots with Torso by Hip Actuators

Abstract

This study aims at a design technique of energy-efficient biped walking robots on level ground with simple mechanisms. To do this, we focus on the passive dynamic walkers which can walk stably down a shallow slope without actuators and controllers. On level ground, active walking should be studied because the mechanical energy is mainly lost through the swing-leg impacts with the ground. In this paper, numerical simulations show that planar biped robots with torso can walk efficiently on level ground over a wide range of speed by only using hip actuators. The hip actuators are used for a torso and swing-leg control based on passive-dynamic walking. The torso is used to generate active power replacing gravity used in the case of the passive walk. The swing-leg control is introduced to walk stably over a wide range of speed.