Development of a Robotic Platform for Quadruped Gait Investigation

Abstract

This study presents a platform used for quadruped gait investigation. The quadruped has two degrees of freedom in each leg controlled by servomotors. The quadruped, totally weighing 1.5 kg., platform is designed to be developed and built from commercially available off-the-shelf components. The dimensions are 34 cm. in length, 21 cm. in width, and 33 cm, in height when in upright position. From the developed quadruped platform, gaits derived from four-legged animals can be implemented and studied to observe walking or running characteristics. The joint angles needed for each various gait structure are derived by using the inverse kinematics provided by structure of the quadruped. Experimental results have shown initial findings on how four-legged animals achieve their respective gaits.