Force-sensing foot design and control for reflexive balance control of biped robots

Abstract

In this work a force-sensing foot was designed and verified through balancing an inverted pendulum on an inclined plane. Its design, development, and verification are motivated by the stability needs of external robotic legs attached to workers that can help carry heavy personal protective equipment. The foot uses four load cells to sense changes in the normal force applied to the foot, thus being able to sense the angle of the ground. Verification testing shows that the system can be balanced, without an Inertial Measurement Unit, using only the load cells. In addition, a lightweight system of external robotics legs for use in human testing of quadrupedal gaits is designed.