A walking robot using programmable springs

This is a simple demonstration of how programmable spring actuators can be used to create a set of robot legs with in-built stepping reflexes. The robot ‘walks’ when it is pulled along on its leash. All the behaviour is embedded in the actuators. When a leg is perturbed beyond a limit, the shoulder actuator sends a binary signal to the knee actuator, which lifts the leg off the ground. The leg drops back when it has swung forward far enough. When one leg takes a step it will also send a signal to suppress the stepping reflex in the other leg, which stops them both stepping at the same time.

For more details about Programmable Spring Actuators go to:
http://www.informatics.sussex.ac.uk/users/wb23/PGS/PGS.html
And you can find a page about how this robot works via the Videos page on my site, or through here:
http://tinyurl.com/mtp7aa
I also have a page on the Brighton Robotics Community website here:
http://robotbrighton.ning.com/profile/BillB

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22 responses to “A walking robot using programmable springs”

  1. Warlock254 Avatar
    Warlock254

    Kinda looks like a …
    Kinda looks like a robot man crawling after you.

  2. daveyt88 Avatar
    daveyt88

    hahah u make me …
    hahah u make me laughing so hard! good one

  3. r32adt3db Avatar
    r32adt3db

    It’s like the …
    It’s like the hunchback of robots. Ugly thing that walks with wheels? Lol.

  4. RastiMinato Avatar
    RastiMinato

    Nice pet there ๐Ÿ˜›
    Nice pet there ๐Ÿ˜›

  5. MusicMichaels Avatar
    MusicMichaels

    Check out No …
    Check out No Obamanation Video pass it around

  6. phi11ykid96 Avatar
    phi11ykid96

    HAHA
    HAHA

  7. oxygon Avatar
    oxygon

    That Poor Robot… …
    That Poor Robot… Stop pulling So Hard! ๐Ÿ™

  8. ao2528 Avatar
    ao2528

    Ahahahaha it …
    Ahahahaha it doesn’t make sense at all!

    TheTwelfthDoctor has the point……
    wheels? but it walks…… ahahahah lol!
    and you need to drag it…… i think i should buy a remote car instead of ur robot….. this is not fun…….

  9. jzinit Avatar
    jzinit

    I haz dog. yippee
    I haz dog. yippee

  10. TheTwelfthDoctor Avatar
    TheTwelfthDoctor

    Why wheels on a …
    Why wheels on a walking robot?

  11. barakuda1111 Avatar
    barakuda1111

    so you just have to …
    so you just have to pull the string to make it move?

  12. aydoooo Avatar
    aydoooo

    You go to MIT?
    You go to MIT?

  13. ELuhn Avatar
    ELuhn

    “Where are you …
    “Where are you going, honey?”
    “I’m taking the robot out for a drag.”

  14. theJews88 Avatar
    theJews88

    If you want to earn …
    If you want to earn free stuff like videogames, concert tickets, and plane tickets watch my latest “Swagbucks” Video. It’s not a scam and it’s 100% free. Check it out, you have nothing to lose!!Trust Me, I’ve tried it.
    ??????????????????????????

  15. Digeridude Avatar
    Digeridude

    It walks exactly …
    It walks exactly like an iguana!

  16. GCUEntropy Avatar
    GCUEntropy

    You get benefits if …
    You get benefits if it is walking over uneven ground as well because it can compensate – it doesn’t need sensors to detect of the legs are touching the ground because the servos can be programmed to measure and respond to the weight of the robot.

  17. GCUEntropy Avatar
    GCUEntropy

    The robot has …
    The robot has virtual springs controlling the lifting of its legs, if you made one with six legs you could program each to work like a suspension system with springs and damping and if you dropped your robot onto its feet from a few feet high it would just bounce – if you did that with normal servos you might well destroy them.

  18. GCUEntropy Avatar
    GCUEntropy

    It is a bit limited …
    It is a bit limited but you can easily add to the software so it can walk on its own. The purpose of this bot was to demonstrate how you can do lots of interesting things when you have control over compliance – how easily the servo responds to external forces.

  19. magictricc Avatar
    magictricc

    Nice. Maybe you …
    Nice. Maybe you could fabricate a seal skin to cover the skeleton. Instant Robot seal!

  20. Digeridude Avatar
    Digeridude

    Cool, although …
    Cool, although limited use since it needs to be pulled. I think someone could make a really cool robot pet that goes for walkies. =)

  21. poorrobot Avatar
    poorrobot

    Awesome. I looked …
    Awesome. I looked into this a few years ago using OpenServos w/ servo-savers as the elastic aspect, but never got very reliable results that way. I hope you are able to find a manufacturing and/or sales partner to distribute these, I would certainly buy a few.

  22. KuroTempest Avatar
    KuroTempest

    that’s pretty …
    that’s pretty interesting.

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