Enhancing postural stability in a musculoskeletal hopping robot through stretch reflex application on biarticular thigh muscles.

ABSTRACT: Postural stabilization during rapid and powerful hopping actions represents a significant challenge for legged robotics. One strategy utilized by humans to negotiate this difficulty is the robust activation of biarticular thigh muscles. Guided by this physiological principle, this study aims to enhance the postural stability of a hopping robot through the emulation of this human mechanism. A legged robot powered by pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) was designed to mimic human anatomical structures. A critical aspect of this development was creating a tension-oriented stretch reflex system engineered to initiate muscle activation in response to perturbations. Our research encompassed three experiments: 1) assessing the trunk pitch angle with and without the integration of stretch reflexes

SUBMITTER: Takahashi R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10701388 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature