Passive buffering arm for a humanoid robot against falling damage

Abstract

Humanoid robot is anticipated to serve people in the near future. However, a humanoid robot encounters a high risk of falling when walking or operating in an uncertain environment. In this paper, we propose a passive buffering arm to reduce damage for humanoid robot during falling forward, and we develop a robotic prototype which has a simplified humanoid robot shape and can emulate motions in the sagittal plane for falling forward. Through the analysis of experimental data, we know the magnitude of the impact force and impact torque in robot arm during falling forward, and we conclude that the optimal elasticity and damping for buffer components.