A legged robot according to the present disclosure includes: a trunk; a plurality of legs provided on the trunk; and a changing section that changes a target ground-contact time of each of the legs, on the basis of target gait information, self-state information, and environment information.

A foothold position control system and method for a biped robot are provided. 1) A feasible collision-free path is planned by using a path planning algorithm; 2) an available foothold area of a swing foot is determined according to step-length constraints, movement capabilities, foot sizes, and center offsets of a biped robot; and 3) fuzzy processing is performed to determine a specific foothold position of the biped robot. Selection of suitable foothold positions on both sides of a path when a biped robot executes specific walking actions after finishing path planning is realized. The foothold position control system and method has the advantages of being simple and easy to implement, having low computational load and high speed, being capable of exerting extreme movement capabilities of different biped robots, enabling more flexible movement of the biped robots, and so on.

A foothold position control system and method for a biped robot are provided. 1) A feasible collision-free path is planned by using a path planning algorithm; 2) an available foothold area of a swing foot is determined according to step-length constraints, movement capabilities, foot sizes, and center offsets of a biped robot; and 3) fuzzy processing is performed to determine a specific foothold position of the biped robot. Selection of suitable foothold positions on both sides of a path when a biped robot executes specific walking actions after finishing path planning is realized. The foothold position control system and method has the advantages of being simple and easy to implement, having low computational load and high speed, being capable of exerting extreme movement capabilities of different biped robots, enabling more flexible movement of the biped robots, and so on.

A method for negotiating stairs includes receiving image data about a robot maneuvering in an environment with stairs. Here, the robot includes two or more legs. Prior to the robot traversing the stairs, for each stair, the method further includes determining a corresponding step region based on the received image data. The step region identifies a safe placement area on a corresponding stair for a distal end of a corresponding swing leg of the robot. Also prior to the robot traversing the stairs, the method includes shifting a weight distribution of the robot towards a front portion of the robot. When the robot traverses the stairs, the method further includes, for each stair, moving the distal end of the corresponding swing leg of the robot to a target step location where the target step location is within the corresponding step region of the stair.

A method for negotiating stairs includes receiving image data about a robot maneuvering in an environment with stairs. Here, the robot includes two or more legs. Prior to the robot traversing the stairs, for each stair, the method further includes determining a corresponding step region based on the received image data. The step region identifies a safe placement area on a corresponding stair for a distal end of a corresponding swing leg of the robot. Also prior to the robot traversing the stairs, the method includes shifting a weight distribution of the robot towards a front portion of the robot. When the robot traverses the stairs, the method further includes, for each stair, moving the distal end of the corresponding swing leg of the robot to a target step location where the target step location is within the corresponding step region of the stair.

The present disclosure relates to protecting fragile members of robots from damage during fall events. In response to detecting a fall event, a fragile member of a robot can be actuated to a defensive configuration to avoid or reduce damage. An actuatable protective member can be actuated to protect a fragile member to avoid or reduce damage to the fragile member. Actuatable protective members can be dedicated protective members, or can be other members of the robot which serve different functionality outside of a fall event but act as a protective member during a fall event.

The present disclosure relates to protecting fragile members of robots from damage during fall events. In response to detecting a fall event, a fragile member of a robot can be actuated to a defensive configuration to avoid or reduce damage. An actuatable protective member can be actuated to protect a fragile member to avoid or reduce damage to the fragile member. Actuatable protective members can be dedicated protective members, or can be other members of the robot which serve different functionality outside of a fall event but act as a protective member during a fall event.

A walking vehicle including a chassis and a plurality of wheel-leg components is described. The plurality of wheel-leg components are collectively operable to provide wheeled locomotion and walking locomotion.

The disclosure provides a method for generating a joint command. The method includes receiving a maneuver script including a plurality of maneuvers for a legged robot to perform where each maneuver is associated with a cost. The method further includes identifying that two or more maneuvers of the plurality of maneuvers of the maneuver script occur at the same time instance. The method also includes determining a combined maneuver for the legged robot to perform at the time instance based on the two or more maneuvers and the costs associated with the two or more maneuvers. The method additionally includes generating a joint command to control motion of the legged robot at the time instance where the joint command commands a set of joints of the legged robot. Here, the set of joints correspond to the combined maneuver.

A computer-implemented gait planning method includes: determining a pitch angle between a foot of the robot and a support surface where the robot stands; determining a support point on a sole of the foot according to the pitch angle; calculating an ankle-foot position vector according to the support point, wherein the ankle-foot position vector is a position vector from an ankle of the robot to a support point on a sole of the foot; calculating a magnitude of change of an ankle position according to the pitch angle and the ankle-foot position vector; and obtaining a compensated ankle position by compensating the ankle position according to the magnitude of change of the ankle position.