Realization of quick turn of biped humanoid robot by using slipping motion with both feet

This paper describes a fast turning method for a humanoid robot by using slipping motion with both feet. The humanoid robot, WABIAN-2R, has achieved human-like walking with heel contact and toe off motions by using a human-like foot mechanism with a passive toe joint. The human-like foot enables a robot to turn by using slipping motion between the feet and the ground because it can switch ground contact conditions such as heel contact, sole contact and toe contact. To realize a slipping turn, we develop an attitude control. Verification of the proposed method is conducted through experiments with a biped humanoid robot WABIAN-2R. WABIAN-2R realized a quick turn by using slipping motion with both feet. We also confirmed that the energy consumption of a slipping turn is less than that of a stepping turn.