In this paper, the system design and analysis of a quadruped robot, Rush, are presented. The quadruped robot was fabricated to study autonomous and efficient running on flat and rough terrain. It is a compact, kneed, four-legged machine with only one actuator per compliant leg. A novel control strategy for the quadruped robot has been proposed in consideration of several engineering limitations...

This paper presents the design and analysis of a reduced degree-of-freedom Robotic Modular Leg (RML) mechanism used to construct a quadruped robot. This mechanism enables the robot to perform forward and steering locomotion with fewer actuators than conventional quadruped robots. The RML is composed of a double four-bar mechanism that maintains foot orientation parallel to the base and decouple...

We present the design of a novel compliant quadruped robot: Cheetahcub, and a series of locomotion experiments with fast trotting gaits. The robot’s leg configuration is based on a spring-loaded, pantograph mechanism with multiple segments. A dedicated open loop locomotion controller was derived and implemented. Experiments were run in simulation and in hardware on flat terrain and with a step-...

Central Pattern Generators are used in several kinds of robot locomotion, from swimming and flying, to bipeds, quadrupeds and hexapods. It is thought that this approach can yield better results in dynamical and natural environments. In this work we expand a previous quadruped locomotion controller and propose a method to couple the step cycle phase onto the locomotor CPG of a quadruped robot, c...

The authors have proposed a dynamic turning control system of a quadruped robot by using nonlinear oscillators. It is composed of a spontaneous locomotion controller and voluntary motion controller. In this article, capability of dynamic turning motion of the proposed control system is verified through numerical simulations and hardware experiments: Various turning speed and orientation make th...

In the growing field of rehabilitation robotics, the modelling of a real robot is a complex and passionate challenge. On the crossing point of mechanics, physics and computer-science, the development of a complete 3D model involves the knowledge of the different physic properties, for an accurate simulation. In this paper, it is proposed the design of an efficient three-dimensional model of the...

Gait study on quadruped robots with a locked joint failure is discussed in this paper. The quadruped robot has a moving appendage which, attached onto the robot body, serves as a controllable apparatus that changes the equivalent position of the center of gravity. We propose a crab gait sequence for the quaruped robot to continue its static walking despite an occurrence of a locked joint failur...

this paper studies the effect of flexible linear torso on the dynamics of passive quadruped bounding. a reduced-order passive and conservative model with linear flexible torso and springy legs is introduced. the model features extensive spine deformation during high-speed bounding, resembling those observed in a cheetah. fixed points corresponding to cyclic bounding motions are found and calcul...

In this paper we examine locomotion in the context of self-reconfigurable robots. Self-reconfigurable robots are robots built from many connected modules. A selfreconfigurable robot can change its shape and configuration by changing the way these modules are connected. The focus of this paper is to understand how several locomotion gaits can be represented in such a robot and how the robot can ...