Development of Prototype Electric-driven 2-DoF Monopod Robot for Hopping Motion

The purpose of this study is to develop a one-legged hopping robot MH-1, which is the smallest configuration of a legged robot, with the long-term goal of developing a multi-legged robot capable of jumping and running. In this study, we aim to make MH-1 realize hopping while MH-1 is constrained so that it could only move in the vertical direction. The leg is a 2-DoF serial link mechanism with pitch axes at the hip and knee joints. Based on the simulation and experimental results of the prototype called MH-1P, the actuators and reduction gears were selected. We then designed and fabricated an electrically driven 2-DoF monopod robot (height: 510 mm, mass: 6.9 kg) that can withstand the impact of hopping and landing. As a result of the experiment on the actual robot, it was confirmed that MH-1 realized hopping based on the floor reaction force obtained from the force plate during hopping.