Synthesis of Two Primary Types of Walking Robot Legs

Walking robots use legs to separate their bodies from tough terrain. There is few systematic method to accomplish specific structure design of robot legs. This paper provides a practical systematic design method based on generalized-function (GF) set theory. The process of the method includes type classification, number synthesis, limb decomposition and kinematic pair design. Two main types of robot legs are proposed to represent basic design targets. The number synthesis of the basic leg types are transferred to two linear Diophantine equations, actuation synthesis and constraint synthesis by name. According to practical requirements, feasible limb expressions and kinematic-pair design are proposed. Finally all the fifty-one leg types are synthesized and typical prototypes are realized to prove the validity of the design method.