Simple and low-cost compliant leg-foot system

2004

Conference Paper

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We present the design of a simple and low- cost humanoid leg-foot system featuring compliant joints and springy feet. The mechanical compliance of the individual joints can be adjusted by means of visco-elastic material, or metal. To explore some of the relevant characteristics of the proposed system, we performed a series of experiments in which the leg was dropped from a fixed height. Combinations of different materials in the joints (silicone rubber, latex, and brass) as well as a rigid or a compliant foot were used. Additional data were obtained through of a Lagrangian analysis of the leg-foot system. Our analyses show that compliant joints not only reduce impactive forces, but also induce smoother joint trajectories. Further, by employing a compliant foot, a higher energy efficiency for the movement is achieved.

@inproceedings{iros_2004,
  title = {Simple and low-cost compliant leg-foot system},
  author = {Meyer, Friedrich and Spr{\"o}witz, Alexander and Lungarella, Maximilian and Berthouze, Luc},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2004)},
  volume = {1},
  pages = {515--520},
  publisher = {IEEE},
  address = {Sendai, Japan},
  year = {2004},
  doi = {10.1109/IROS.2004.1389404}
}