Aspects in Designing the Leg for a Walking Robot

Abstract

Based on previous theoretical and experimental research, this paper aims to focus on several aspects that must be considered for the design of the legs of walking robots. Various fundamental functional and constructive aspects are addressed. Then, for a structure chosen and suitable for a hexapod locomotion, several necessary elements of analysis are presented and accompanied by appropriate simulations in the Matlab environment. They are targeted: the analysis of the geometric operating space (with sections from different angles and associated extreme points), the calculation of the center of mass, the direct and the inverse kinematic model, the dynamic model, and finally some graphical studies related to the analysis of dynamic performance which are accompanied by interpretation of the results obtained in the SimMechanics simulation environment.