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Bi-Ped Increment #7

Study on an improved version

The aim was to add the video board on the existing BiPed, in order to let it play football. It appears that this would load the BiPed too much, due to the extra batteries that should be included to power this board. I'm now considering building a new version, controlled by the video board itself. This would also be a opportunity to add some extra features on the robot:

  • The fork-like construction of the feet should be discarded. The leg should be able to move sideward, such that it can support the center of mass of the robot all the time.
  • The new version the servos should get its own dedicated controllers, probably based on the PIC 16F872.

Before spending time and money on the hardware, I decided to make a simulation of the proposed version. Below you find some results.

The video (267kB) shows (somewhat blurred by the video-compression) an excerpt of a simulation of a Biped capable of balancing not only in forward and backward direction, but also sideward. In order to achieve this, 2 extra degrees of freedom per leg is postulated. The walking pattern itself is based on the increment 6 version. Additional sideward movements were added such that the center of mass of the robot is supported all the time.