A dynamic biped walking robot based on the momentum mechanism with flexible beams

A dynamic biped walking robot based on the momentum mechanism with flexible beams is proposed. This robot has two legs which are a pair of flexible beams instead of a pair of rigid crura and femurs. The flexible beams are expected to bring a light weight robot, and also act as joints at knees which have been operated by electric or hydraulic motors. A computer model of the present robot has been developed, and the dynamic behavior is analyzed and displayed by animation, here. Furthermore, a prototype model which walks by dynamic human gait was designed, setup and inspected. As the result we found the following features. (1) The weight of the proposed robot can be reduced to half as compared with conventional rigid body robots. (2) Rapid and stable walking can be attained by the swift movement of the flexible legs. (3) Energy consumption for dynamic walking is reduced to 70% as compared with rigid body robots