SIL04: a true walking robot for the comparative study of walking machine techniques

This article presents the SIL04 walking robot, a medium-sized quadruped mechanism built for basic research and development as well as for educational purposes. The SIL04 is a compact, modular, robust machine capable of negotiating irregular terrain, surmounting obstacles up to 250 mm tall and carrying about 15 kg in payload at a maximum velocity of about 1.5 m/min, depending on the gait it is using. A brief description of SIL04's leg and body structures, foot mechanisms and robot configuration is provided, and some insights into the hardware, software and simulation tools developed for SIL04 are presented.