Author: Haldane, D.W.; Plecnik, M.M.; Yim, J.K.; Fearing, R.S.
Description: Several arboreal mammals have the ability to rapidly and repeatedly jump vertical distances of 2 m, starting from rest.
We characterize this performance by a metric we call vertical jumping agility. Through basic kinetic relations, we show
that this agility metric is fundamentally constrained by available actuator power. Although rapid high jumping is an
important performance characteristic, the ability to control forces during stance also appears critical for sophisticated
behaviors. The animal with the highest vertical jumping agility, the galago(Galago senegalensis), is known to use a powermodulating strategy to obtain higher peak power than that of muscle alone. Few previous robots have used serieselastic power modulation (achieved by combining series-elastic actuation with variable mechanical advantage), and
because of motor power limits, the best current robot has a vertical jumping agility of only 55% of a galago. Through
use of a specialized leg mechanism designed to enhance power modulation, we constructed a jumping robot that
achieved 78% of the vertical jumping agility of a galago. Agile robots can explore venues of locomotion that were
not previously attainable. We demonstrate this with a wall jump, where the robot leaps from the floor to a wall and
then springs off the wall to reach a net height that is greater than that accessible by a single jump. Our results show that
series-elastic power modulation is an actuation strategy that enables a clade of vertically agile robots.
Subject Headings: Robot; Jumping ability; Power modulation; Agility
Keywords: Robotic vertical jumping agility via series-elastic power modulation
Publication year: 2016
Journal or book title: Science Robotics
Volume: 1
Issue: 1
Pages: eaag2048
Find the full text : https://europepmc.org/article/med/33157854
Find more like this one (cited by): https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=17208890133470482216&as_sdt=1000005&sciodt=0,16&hl=en
Type: Journal Article
Serial number: 2407