On Energy-Efficient and High-Speed Dynamic Biped Locomotion with Semicircular Feet

This paper investigates effectiveness of semicircular feet on dynamic biped locomotion. We first introduce the simplest biped model with semicircular feet and show its level walking by hip-joint actuation. In the second, parameter study is performed by adjusting the physical and control parameters. Throughout numerical analysis, it is shown that the semicircular feet dramatically increases the walking speed and the stable domain. By the effect of the rolling, energy-efficient and high-speed dynamic biped locomotion on a level can be realized easily without ankle-joint actuation nor concerning the zero moment point condition