Optimizing Bipedal Locomotion for The 100m Dash With Comparison to Human Running

TL;DR

This paper develops and compares high-speed running gaits for a bipedal robot to human biomechanics, optimizing for efficiency and integrating into a 100m dash controller, culminating in a Guinness World Record.

Contribution

It introduces an optimization approach for high-speed bipedal gait efficiency, compares these gaits to human running mechanics, and implements a full 100m dash controller on hardware.

Findings

Gaits are highly similar to human running across speeds

Achieved a Guinness World Record for 100m by a bipedal robot

Optimized gaits enable high-speed running on hardware

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the space of running gaits for the bipedal robot Cassie. Our first contribution is to present an approach for optimizing gait efficiency across a spectrum of speeds with the aim of enabling extremely high-speed running on hardware. This raises the question of how the resulting gaits compare to human running mechanics, which are known to be highly efficient in comparison to quadrupeds. Our second contribution is to conduct this comparison based on established human biomechanical studies. We find that despite morphological differences between Cassie and humans, key properties of the gaits are highly similar across a wide range of speeds. Finally, our third contribution is to integrate the optimized running gaits into a full controller that satisfies the rules of the real-world task of the 100m dash, including starting and stopping from a standing position. We demonstrate this controller on hardware to establish the Guinness World Record for Fastest 100m by a Bipedal Robot.