肩帯の柔軟なハンモック構造を活用可能な四脚ロボットの開発

抄録

Modern–day quadruped robots are designed to possess symmetrical body and limbs, for good balance and modularity. On the other hand, animal morphology is sophisticated and has obtained heterogeneity along the cephalocaudal direction, realizing adaptive locomotion. This study aims to understand the functionality of the cephalocaudal heterogeneous animal morphology and establish a design principle for agile robots. In this study, we developed a quadruped robot mimicking the flexibility of the pectoral girdle (shoulder region) of cursorial mammals. We simplified the mammals’ flexible shoulder structure by employing vertical– and horizontal–oriented passive springs. As a result of walking experiments, the robot exhibits displacements of shoulder units during forelimbs’ stance phase.