STriDER: Self-Excited Tripedal Dynamic Experimental Robot

摘要

STriDER (Self-Excited Tripedal Dynamic Experimental Robot) is a novel three-legged walking machine that exploits the concept of actuated passive dynamic locomotion to dynamically walk with high energy efficiency and minimal control. Unlike other passive dynamic walking machines, this unique tripedal locomotion robot is inherently stable with its tripod stance, can change directions, and is relatively easy to implement, making it practical to be used for real life applications. STriDER begins its step with a stable stance like a camera tripod. As the center of gravity of the robot shifts forward pass the "pivot line" defined by the two feet of the stance legs, the robot begins to fall in the direction perpendicular to the pivot line. The middle leg naturally swings between the two stance legs using the concept of actuated passive dynamic locomotion. The swing leg then catches the fall and the robot resets to its original tripod posture in preparation for its next step. STriDER can easily change its direction of walking, simply by changing the sequence of choice of the swing leg and the stance legs. In this video, we present the concept of this novel walking machine and the mechanical design of the first prototype. The results from the dynamic simulation and a simple experiment for a single step are presented for comparison