Development of a human type legged robot with roller skates

Abstract

There are types of walking robots using wheels with their legs. Among those, the robots with passive wheels generate propulsive force by specially designed periodic leg motions. The authors had proposed to use a special axle mechanism that can change its curvature to track a designed path for propulsion. The mechanism showed not only straightforward motion but also curved motion and pivoting motion that is unique to the method. However, the robot did not have enough stiffness for further quantitative investigation. Therefore a new bipedal walking robot was developed for the work. The developed robot could perform the roller walking with the designed forward movement. The method of the roller walk of a biped robot is described briefly followed by the design and implementation of the robot. An idea to use Bézier curve for motion trajectory is also introduced. Experimental results are also described and shown in an accompanied video.