EFFECTS OF LEG CONFIGURATION ON RUNNING AND WALKING ROBOTS

This paper investigates the relations between leg configuration and performance during running and walking operations. Specifically,we use standard kinematic techniques to visualize impact forces and kinetic energy loss during inelastic collisions with the environment in order to gain fundamental insights into robotic leg design. We show that for a two-link planar leg with revolute joints, as lightly crouched stance with a backward-facing knee (in contrast to humans) is optimal for both impac trejection and energy economy.