Kinematics of a Reconfigurable Robotic Leg based on the inverse Peaucellier-Lipkin mechanism

This work presents a new Reconfigurable Robotic Leg based on the inverse P-L mechanism that is modified for use in walking machines. It has the ability to describe straight line or curved paths depending on the selected ratio between the lengths of two of its links and its kinematics. It means that the one degree-of-freedom mechanism was transformed into a more sophisticated parallel kinematic chain by the inclusion of four more degrees of freedom. This leg has five DOFs, but only two of them are used for the support and transfer phases. The other three DOFs are used exclusively when the foot needs a reconfiguration to describe a different path during the transfer phase.