Additional DOFs and sensors for bio-inspired locomotion: Towards active spine, ankle joints, and feet for a quadruped robot

In this paper, we present the design of biologically inspired structural components which should effectively improve the locomotion and mobility characteristics when applied to a robotic system. The aim is to increase the overall performance of a complex walking robot by the purposeful use of intelligent structures. In order to achieve this goal, an improved perception of the environment and the robot´s own condition is needed. The structures contain a variety of functions which not only can extend the already existing locomotion behaviors of robots, but also permit further relevant applications like the contemporaneous use as supporting structure and sensor system. A precise perception of the environment is realizable with a high number of various sensors which results in large amount of data. To obtain the necessary information, a hierarchical sensor concept is used. Rigid or connecting elements are extended to single subsystems, including locally preprocessed and evaluated sensor information. The description in this paper includes the single subsystems and the planned prototype which will be used to demonstrate the possibilities of these subsystems by acting collaboratively.