Design and control of robot legs with bi-articular muscle-tendon complex

Ryuki Sato*, Eiki Kazama, Aiguo Ming, Makoto Shimojo, Fei Meng, Huaxin Liu, Xuxiao Fan, Xuechao Chen, Zhangguo Yu, Qiang Huang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The musculoskeletal system of animals is evolved to an optimal form for their locomotion in their living environments. Their phenomenal dynamic motions are performed by synergistically using those muscles and tendons. In particular, it is known that the muscle-tendon complex in lower leg greatly contributes to the fast running and jumping of felidae like cats and cheetahs. This complex, which is composed of gastrocnemius and Achilles' tendon, generates large output by storing and reusing the kinetic energy during their locomotions. To realize creature-like dynamic motion, we have developed leg mechanism called elastic four-bar linkage mechanism, which is made of four-bar linkage mechanism with one elastic linkage and electrical motor, inspired by bi-articular muscle-tendon complex of cats. In this paper, we optimize the design of the four-bar linkage mechanism including elasticity characteristics of elastic linkage in this leg mechanism by vertical jump simulation. Moreover, we propose the motion control strategy for drop jump inspired from the Stretch-Shortening Cycle (SSC) of bi-articular muscle-tendon complex. As a result of drop jump experiment using two-legged robot, the robot realized high jumps owing to the optimal design and the new control strategy.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, ROBIO 2017
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages2605-2610
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9781538637418
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jul 2017
Event2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, ROBIO 2017 - Macau, China
Duration: 5 Dec 20178 Dec 2017

Publication series

Name2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, ROBIO 2017
Volume2018-January

Conference

Conference2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, ROBIO 2017
Country/TerritoryChina
CityMacau
Period5/12/178/12/17

Keywords

  • Biologically Inspired Robot
  • Design Optimization
  • Legged Robot

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Sato, R., Kazama, E., Ming, A., Shimojo, M., Meng, F., Liu, H., Fan, X., Chen, X., Yu, Z., & Huang, Q. (2017). Design and control of robot legs with bi-articular muscle-tendon complex. In 2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, ROBIO 2017 (pp. 2605-2610). (2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, ROBIO 2017; Vol. 2018-January). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1109/ROBIO.2017.8324812