Walking Machine Design Based on Certain Aspects of Arthropod Legs

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This project addresses research in walking machine design. Specifically, the primary objective here is to test the feasibility of a walking machine design based on some characteristics of arthropod legs. Arthropods are chosen for the animal model to be emulated because of their similarity to current engineering capabilities for building walking machines. Three important characteristics of insect legs are: 1) a point contact with the ground, 2) a near approximation to a Hooke joint for connection to the body, and 3) a single revolute joint near the middle of the leg which changes distance from the ground contact to the Hooke joint. This structure encourages the speculation that when all six feet contact the ground, the legs exert only forces (no torques) on the body. When fewer feet are on the ground, the simplest way to walk appears to be staying at or near balance positions. A walking machine based on these concepts is proposed. This walking machine design is dramatically different from current designs, and keeps the machine statically stable and statically determinant as much of the time as possible. When this is possible, simple control schemes can be used to maintain balance.