System-Level Design Methodology for a Distributed Electromechanical Actuator in Bio-Inspired Robots

Abstract

Biological mechanisms are embraced in mobile robots to interact with their environments. Although existing biologically inspired robots perform well, their performance is limited due to the lack of a flexible spine. A vertebrate spine provides agility, a wide range of motion, balance, and efficiency. This paper proposes a system-level design methodology for a distributed and scalable actuator that mimics a robotic spine in the vertical plane. A modified limb design is introduced that significantly improves the torque capability of the distributed actuator.