Yupu Yang

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Yupu Yang’s research centers on bio-inspired robotics, particularly the design and control of one-legged locomotion systems. Drawing inspiration from the jumping mechanics of frogs, Yang introduced a novel planar one-legged robot architecture featuring three revolute joints, two links, and two feet—a departure from conventional springy-legged designs. This work enabled the modeling of the robot as a two-degree-of-freedom manipulator, opening new avenues for dynamic gait generation. Yang’s key contributions include the development of cyclic jumping gaits and the pioneering concept of ballistic flipping, a unique mode of locomotion that leverages momentum for efficient, unstable motion. To stabilize these inherently unstable gaits, Yang applied Poincaré map analysis to identify fixed points and employed neural network-based control strategies, demonstrating a sophisticated integration of nonlinear dynamics and machine learning. While the citation counts for these papers are modest (2–4 citations each), they represent foundational steps in underactuated legged robotics and have informed subsequent work on dynamic, energy-efficient locomotion. Yang’s research exemplifies how biological observation can inspire novel mechanical designs and control frameworks in robotics.