Analysis of Fast Bipedal Walking Using Mechanism of Actively Controlled Wobbling Mass

Abstract

In this study, a novel approach was developed to achieve fast bipedal walking by using an actively controlled wobbling mass. Bipedal robots capable of achieving energy efficient limit cycle walking have been developed, and researchers have studied methods to increase their walking speed. When humans walk, their arm swinging is coordinated with the walking phases, generating a regular symmetrical motion about the torso. The bipedal robots with a wobbling mass in the torso mimicked the arm swinging by the proposed control method. We demonstrated that the proposed method is capable of increasing the bipedal walking speed.