Mechanical Shock Propagation Reduction in Robot Legs

This letter shows how the mass distribution in a robot's leg affects the propagation of mechanical shocks from the foot to the torso. An example is given of a leg design that propagates no shock at all; and a formula is given for the propagation of shock in a general robot leg, modelled as a chain of rigid bodies, assuming that the foot makes a point or small-area contact when it strikes the ground.