Publication Date
2019
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Luther Palmer III (Advisor), Xiaodong Zhang (Committee Member), Arnab K. Shaw (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE)
Abstract
A legged robot with three-segmented limbs is used to study the effects of leg compliance originating from the joint level on the stability of hopping in place and running. The three-segments allow each leg to be kinematically configured an infinite number ways that satisfy the desired landing condition parameters, total leg length and angle. These two parameters along with the amount of energy thrust during stance determine the motion of the system during a single stride. The goal of this work is to explore the potential values for the leg parameters of three-segment leg, that provide additional stability when compared to legs with fewer segments. The stability is analyzed based on the how well the robot can return to the desired height while hopping and the desired velocity while running. Given a fixed point in the control space, where the system returns to the initial height and velocity, the stability of different leg configurations is compared by counting the number of steps the robot can take before falling over. The added thrust to the joints and the leg attack angles are varied to observe the stability regions for different kinematic configurations, and compared to biped with lower number of leg segments, to prove how leg segmentation provides additional stability. It may also be useful to perform the same research for running on uneven terrains.
Page Count
56
Department or Program
Department of Electrical Engineering
Year Degree Awarded
2019
Copyright
Copyright 2019, all rights reserved. My ETD will be available under the "Fair Use" terms of copyright law.
ORCID ID
0000-0002-9137-2613
