Compounding mobility by soft and hemispheric torsionall feet

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26540136
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Intelligent robotics
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Kenji Tahara 九州大学, 工学研究院, 准教授 (80392033)
• Research Collaborator: KADOSAKI Masahiro 九州大学, 工学府, 学生 ; MARUBAYASHI Hiroki 九州大学, 工学府, 学生
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 二足歩行 / 柔軟半球足 / バランス制御

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this research, we proposed a biped walking robot with flexible hemisphere feet to realize highly efficient movement in the human living environment. Since rolling occurs by making the feet a hemisphere, it is possible to increase the energy efficiency. Furthermore, by actively twisting the hemispheric feet, wheel movement is realized. As a result, it is possible to realize both high-efficiency bipeds walking and wheel movement. However, a fine balance control is necessary for this robot because the feet are the hemisphere. In this research, we derive the constraint conditions and the equations of motion which are necessary for balance and walking control of bipedal walking robot with flexible hemisphere feet, and propose a balance and walking control methods. Finally we confirmed the effectiveness of it by simulations. Also, we have designed a prototype and are now confirming the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Free Research Field

ロボティクス