Energy efficient walking with central pattern generators: From passive dynamic walking to biologically inspired control

Like human walking, passive dynamic walking—i.e. walking down a slope with no actuation except gravity—is energy efficient by exploiting the natural dynamics. In the animal world, neural oscillators termed central pattern generators (CPGs) provide the basic rhythm for muscular activity in locomotion. We present a CPG model, which automatically...

Essentials of dynamic walking; analysis and design of two-legged robots

One of the main challenges in the design of human-like walking robots (useful for service or entertainment applications as well as the study of human locomotion) is to obtain dynamic locomotion, as opposed to the static form of locomotion demonstrated by most of the current prototypes. A promising concept is the idea of passive dynamic walking;...