Design Method of a Kangaroo Robot with High Power Legs and an Articulated Soft Tail

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel design method for a kangaroo-inspired robot featuring high-power legs and an articulated soft tail, enabling jumping, body support, and mimicking kangaroo biomechanics.

Contribution

It introduces a new robot design that integrates a musculoskeletal-inspired structure with a soft tail and high-power legs, verified through simulation and innovative actuation mechanisms.

Findings

Robot successfully performs jumping and body support.

Design achieves a balance of softness and high power output.

Motors are efficiently placed in the torso to reduce weight.

Abstract

In this paper, we focus on the kangaroo, which has powerful legs capable of jumping and a soft and strong tail. To incorporate these unique structure into a robot for utilization, we propose a design method that takes into account both the feasibility as a robot and the kangaroo-mimetic structure. Based on the kangaroo's musculoskeletal structure, we determine the structure of the robot that enables it to jump by analyzing the muscle arrangement and prior verification in simulation. Also, to realize a tail capable of body support, we use an articulated, elastic structure as a tail. In order to achieve both softness and high power output, the robot is driven by a direct-drive, high-power wire-winding mechanism, and weight of legs and the tail is reduced by placing motors in the torso. The developed kangaroo robot can jump with its hind legs, moving its tail, and supporting its body using its hind legs and tail.