1A1-E14 Development of a 4-legged Robot with Equivalent Link Length Ratios to a Horse

Abstract

In this paper we report a new 4-legged robot with a neck joint, which has similar link length ratios to a horse. We investigated ratios of leg lengths of horses. Based on the ratios, we built a robot with 11 joints driven by D.C. motors and conducted some experiments. First, we judged walking parameters, such as step length and period, in which the robot can walk and trot. We found that the range of the parameters in trot gait is lager than that in walk gait. Then, we measured inclinations of the body in the both gaits. We investigated effects of the walking parameters on body posture and concluded that the body posture in trot gait is more stable than that in walk gait.