Recovering elastic energy in a single-legged hopping robot
Author(s)
Sedal, Audrey![Thumbnail](/bitstream/handle/1721.1/98766/920902306-MIT.pdf.jpg?sequence=3&isAllowed=y)
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Other Contributors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Advisor
Anette Hosoi.
Terms of use
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Robots that mimic animal locomotion may be improved by the addition of compliant parts. A proposed metric for the importance of compliance in an animal gait is Ek/Ein, the ratio of the systems peak kinetic energy to the energy input into it over one gait cycle. In this project, I create an analytical model of a hopping robot and a corresponding physical prototype that will serve as an experimental platform to investigate the relationship between Ek /Ein, and jump performance. Select runs of the simulation show a positive relationship between Ek/Ein and the jump height. Qualitative observation of the physical model shows that compliant parts are able to aid in performing a successful jump.
Description
Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2015. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (page 35).
Date issued
2015Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical EngineeringPublisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Mechanical Engineering.