6 accepted papers
Drag-based swimming using rowing appendages, fins, and webbed feet is a widely adopted mode of locomotion in aquatic animals. To develop efficient underwater and swimming vehicles, various bioinspired drag-based paddle designs have been proposed, often facing a trade-off between propulsive efficienc
Most legged robots are built with leg structures from serially mounted links and actuators and are controlled through complex controllers and sensor feedback. In comparison, animals developed multi-segment legs, mechanical coupling between joints, and multi-segmented feet. They run agile over all te…
The observation of the anatomy of agile animals and their locomotion capabilities emphasizes the importance of fast and lightweight legs and confirms the intrinsic compliance integrated into muscle-tendon units as a major ingredient for energy efficient and robust locomotion. This quality is especia…
We present a new open-source torque-controlled legged robot system, with a low-cost and low-complexity actuator module at its core. It consists of a high-torque brushless DC motor and a low-gear-ratio transmission suitable for impedance and force control. We also present a novel foot contact sensor
In this paper, we present FootTile, a foot sensor for reaction force and center of pressure sensing in challenging terrain. We compare our sensor design to standard biomechanical devices, force plates and pressure plates. We show that FootTile can accurately estimate force and pressure distribution…
Failures are challenging for learning to control physical systems since they risk damage, time-consuming resets, and often provide little gradient information. Adding safety constraints to exploration typically requires a lot of prior knowledge and domain expertise. We present a safety measure which