Energetics of level walking trot gaits in quadruped robots

In this paper we investigate the energetics of level walking trot gaits in quadruped robots with asymmetric body-mass distribution. Two cases of level trotting are considered: constant speed, and deceleration-acceleration with constant average speed. In both the cases, the specific resistance is found to be independent of mass distribution. For the same step length, the mechanical cost of transport in constant speed case increases initially with decrease in walking height and then decreases, whereas in deceleration-acceleration case, it increases monotonously with the decrease in height. We also discuss quasi-passive trotting for reduced energetic costs for these two cases.