Exploring muscular contribution during stepping of biomimetic feline hindlimbs

Although robotic locomotion have greatly advanced over the past years, the abyss that separates such locomotion from even the simplest animal locomotions prompt us to approach robotic locomotion taking cues from animals. The animal musculoskeletal structure, often ignored by roboticists due to its high redundancy and complexity, might hold the secret for self-stable locomotion observed in bipeds and quadrupeds. Aiming to better understand how muscles contribute to self-stable locomotion we take the feline structure as a model on a biomimetic approach. Using 6 air muscles per hindlimb to mimic real muscles, this robot walks stably on a treadmill while supported by a slider, simulating forelimbs. We individually evaluate muscle contribution to walking stability, performing a comparison between mono and biarticular synergistic muscles at the ankle and concluding that a higher compliance on the biarticular muscle improved walking stability. A better understanding of such complex phenomena may help on the development of better legged robots in the future, truly taking advantage of concepts developed by nature over the years.