In our previous works, we have proposed “virtual passive dynamic walking” utilizing modified gravity condition with virtual gravity field. The virtual passive walking motion critically depends on the physical parameters and the steady walking pattern is not easily obtained without suitable physical parameters. Based on the observation, in this paper we propose more generalized method of virtual...

There are an estimated 1.7 million Americans living with limb loss; further, spinal cord injuries afflict 250,000 Americans [1]. Many patients lose their jobs and their quality of life plummets. Fortunately there have been significant advancements in the design of prosthetic limbs in the last few decades. A noteworthy achievement is the direct integration of a prosthetic device with the brain, ...

Passive dynamic walking, a phenomenon originally described for bipeds having straight legs, also works with knees. Thus given only a downhill elope aa a source of energy, a humanlike pair of legs will settle into a natural gait generated by passive interaction of gravity and inertia. No muscular input is required. The physice is much the same as in straightlegged walking, but the knee-jointed f...

There exists a class of two-legged machines for which walking is a natural dynamic mode: Once started on a shallow slope, such a machine will settle into a steady gait quite comparable to human walking, without active control or energy input. Interpretation and analysis of the underlying physics is straighgorward; the walking cycle, its stability, and sensitivity to parameter variations are eas...

The objectives of this study were to characterize the active and passive contributions to joint kinetics during walking in healthy young and older adults, and assess whether isokinetic ankle strength is associated with ankle power output during walking. Twenty healthy young (18-35 years) and 20 healthy older (65-85 years) adults participated in this study. We measured subject-specific passive-e...

This study focuses on the passive dynamic walking to enable a biped robot on level ground to walk efficiently with simple mechanisms. To build an efficient bipedal robot, utilizing the dynamical property of the robot system is a useful approach. McGeer studied passivedynamic walking, and showed a biped robot without actuators and controllers can walk stably down a shallow slope in simulations a...

Currently, many bipedal robots have been proposed to realize the high energy efficiency walking. The control input isn’t required for the passive dynamic walking. Generally, a foot of passive dynamic walking robot is an arc foot. In this paper, it is intended to establish a control method and control mechanism to achieve the energy efficient and the stable gait. Therefore, we developed 3D quasi...

In human walking, it is often assumed that the arms have a passive movement which reduces the energy consumption of walking. The issue addressed in this work is the influence of the arms on the walking of a humanoid robot. The study has two objectives: to verify the effect of arms on a sthenic criterion during walking, and to determine whether the optimal movement of the arms is passive or not....