Publications

Most legged robots are built with leg structures from serially mounted links and actuators and are controlled through complex controllers and sensor feedback. In comparison, animals developed multi-segment legs, mechanical coupling between joints, and multi-segmented feet. They run agile over all terrains, arguably with simpler locomotion control. Here we focus on developing foot mechanisms that resist slipping and sinking also in natural terrain. We present first results of multi-segment feet mounted to a bird-inspired robot leg with multi-joint mechanical tendon coupling. Our one- and two-segment, mechanically adaptive feet show increased viable horizontal forces on multiple soft and hard substrates before starting to slip. We also observe that segmented feet reduce sinking on soft substrates compared to ball-feet and cylinder feet. We report how multi-segmented feet provide a large range of viable centre of pressure points well suited for bipedal robots, but also for quadruped robots on slopes and natural terrain. Our results also offer a functional understanding of segmented feet in animals like ratite birds.

The intersection of ground reaction forces near a point above the center of mass has been observed in computer simulation models and human walking experiments. Observed so ubiquitously, the intersection point (IP) is commonly assumed to provide postural stability for bipedal walking. In this study, we challenge this assumption by questioning if walking without an IP is possible. Deriving gaits with a neuromuscular reflex model through multi-stage optimization, we found stable walking patterns that show no signs of the IP-typical intersection of ground reaction forces. The non-IP gaits found are stable and successfully rejected step-down perturbations, which indicates that an IP is not necessary for locomotion robustness or postural stability. A collision-based analysis shows that non-IP gaits feature center of mass (CoM) dynamics with vectors of the CoM velocity and ground reaction force increasingly opposing each other, indicating an increased mechanical cost of transport. Although our computer simulation results have yet to be confirmed through experimental studies, they already indicate that the role of the IP in postural stability should be further investigated. Moreover, our observations on the CoM dynamics and gait efficiency suggest that the IP may have an alternative or additional function that should be considered.

Muscle fibres possess unique visco-elastic properties, which generate a stabilising zero-delay response to unexpected perturbations. This instantaneous response—termed “preflex”—mitigates neuro-transmission delays, which are hazardous during fast locomotion due to the short stance duration. While the elastic contribution to preflexes has been studied extensively, the function of fibre viscosity due to the force–velocity relation remains unknown. In this study, we present a novel approach to isolate and quantify the preflex force produced by the force–velocity relation in musculo-skeletal computer simulations. We used our approach to analyse the muscle response to ground-level perturbations in simulated vertical hopping. Our analysis focused on the preflex-phase—the first 30 ms after impact—where neuronal delays render a controlled response impossible. We found that muscle force at impact and dissipated energy increase with perturbation height, helping reject the perturbations. However, the muscle fibres reject only 15\% of step-down perturbation energy with constant stimulation. An open-loop rising stimulation, observed in locomotion experiments, amplified the regulatory effects of the muscle fibre’s force–velocity relation, resulting in 68\% perturbation energy rejection. We conclude that open-loop neuronal tuning of muscle activity around impact allows for adequate feed-forward tuning of muscle fibre viscous capacity, facilitating energy adjustment to unexpected ground-level perturbations.

Animals run robustly in diverse terrain. This locomotion robustness is puzzling because axon conduction velocity is limited to a few ten meters per second. If reflex loops deliver sensory information with significant delays, one would expect a destabilizing effect on sensorimotor control. Hence, an alternative explanation describes a hierarchical structure of low-level adaptive mechanics and high-level sensorimotor control to help mitigate the effects of transmission delays. Motivated by the concept of an adaptive mechanism triggering an immediate response, we developed a tunable physical damper system. Our mechanism combines a tendon with adjustable slackness connected to a physical damper. The slack damper allows adjustment of damping force, onset timing, effective stroke, and energy dissipation. We characterize the slack damper mechanism mounted to a legged robot controlled in open-loop mode. The robot hops vertically and planar over varying terrains and perturbations. During forward hopping, slack-based damping improves faster perturbation recovery (up to 170\%) at higher energetic cost (27\%). The tunable slack mechanism auto-engages the damper during perturbations, leading to a perturbation-trigger damping, improving robustness at minimum energetic cost. With the results from the slack damper mechanism, we propose a new functional interpretation of animals' redundant muscle tendons as tunable dampers.

Ground reaction force sensing is one of the key components of gait analysis in legged locomotion research. To measure continuous force data during locomotion, we present a novel compound instrumented treadmill design. The treadmill is 1.7 m long, with a natural frequency of 170 Hz and an adjustable range that can be used for humans and small robots alike. Here, we present the treadmill’s design methodology and characterize it in its natural frequency, noise behavior and real-life performance. Additionally, we apply an ISO 376 norm conform calibration procedure for all spatial force directions and center of pressure position. We achieve a force accuracy of ≤ 5.6 N for the ground reaction forces and ≤ 13 mm in center of pressure position.

Neuromuscular control loops feature substantial communication delays, but mammals run robustly even in the most adverse conditions. In-vivo experiments and computer simulation results suggest that muscles’ preflex—an immediate mechanical response to a perturbation—could be the critical contributor. Muscle preflexes act within a few milliseconds, an order of magnitude faster than neural reflexes. Their short-lasting activity makes mechanical preflexes hard to quantify in-vivo. Muscle models, on the other hand, require further improvement of their prediction accuracy during the non-standard conditions of perturbed locomotion. Additionally, muscles mechanically adapt by increased damping force. Our study aims to quantify the mechanical preflex work and test its mechanical force adaptation. We performed in-vitro experiments with biological muscle fibers under physiological boundary conditions, which we determined in computer simulations of perturbed hopping. Our findings show that muscles initially resist impacts with a stereotypical sti↵ness response—identified as short-range sti↵ness—regardless of the exact perturbation condition. We then observe a velocity adaptation to the force related to the amount of perturbation. The main contributor to the preflex work adaptation is not the force di↵erence but the muscle fiber stretch di↵erence. We find that both muscle sti↵ness and damping are activity-dependent properties. These results indicate that neural control could tune the preflex properties of muscles in expectation of ground conditions leading to previously inexplicable neuromuscular adaptation speeds.

Parallel robots are capable of high-speed manipulation and have become essential tools in the industry. The proximal placement of their motors and the low weight of their end effectors make them ideal for generating highly dynamic motion. Therefore, parallel robots can be adopted for motion platform designs, as long as end effector loads are low. Traditional motion platforms can be large and powerful to generate multiple g acceleration. However, these designs tend to be expensive and large. Similar but smaller motion platforms feature a small work range with reduced degrees of freedom (DoFs) and a limited payload. Here we seek a medium-sized affordable parallel robot capable of powerful and high-speed 6-DoF motion in a comparably large workspace. This work explores the concept of a quadruped robot flipped upside-down, with the motion platform fixed between its feet. In particular, we exploit the high-power dynamic brushless actuation and the four-leg redundancy when moving the motion platform. We characterize the resulting motion platform by tracking sinusoidal and circular trajectories with varying loads. Dynamic motions in 6 DoFs up to 10 Hz and ± 10 mm amplitude are possible when moving a mass of 300 grams. We demonstrate single-axis end-effector translations up to ± 20 mm at 10 Hz for higher loads of 1.2 kg. The motion platform can be replicated easily by 3D printing and off-the-shelf components. All motion platform-related hardware and the custom-written software required to replicate are open-source.