Design and Analysis of a Class of Planar Biped Robots Mechanically Coordinated by a Single Degree of Freedom

Abstract

This paper presents a method of integrating mechanism design and hybrid system analysis for the design of single-degree-of-freedom (DOF) planar biped robots that can achieve dynamic walking gaits that are stable. Reducing the DOF in a biped can result in a reduction in the complexity of the control strategies needed to enable stable walking. Although the biped designed by this procedure is restricted to a single gait, this biped may be less complex, lighter, and less costly to construct than one whose multiple DOFs are coordinated via feedback.