Bio‐inspired Robot Locomotion

Abstract

Bio-inspired robots are driving robot engineering in a variety of new directions and are expected to find particular success operating in natural environments. The most robust and adaptable robots are not only bio-inspired but also “bio-informed” in that they exploit fundamental biological principles of locomotion and control. A major challenge in both rigid and soft robotics is better understanding of how control tasks should be distributed between centrally generated commands and peripheral mechanical responses. This chapter reviews mechanism design, sensing, actuation and control approaches in legged robots with skeletal structures. Every legged robot is underactuated, since, due to either ground or foot compliance, the foot-ground contact always has finite stiffness, and there is no actuator to control contact elastic deformation. Next, the chapter talks about soft robots that they are resistant to damage by sudden impact, can change shape and size, and can be made intrinsically safe for use in human and natural environments.