Design and Control of a Human-Operated Biped Robot for Transportation of Objects

Human-operated biped robot Object transportation is a basic task for which mechanical systems provide support. Examples of the many types of mobile devices developed thus far are handcarts, unmanned autonomous vehicles, forklifts and turret trucks. Most such vehicles are based on wheeled mobile mechanisms, which would be difficult to use for moving objects in areas with high steps. A walking mobile mechanism, in contrast, enables steps to be ascended and descended, so it is expected that walking mechanisms could support object transportation in environments with stairs or steps. In this paper, we present a biped robot that supports object transportation involving stairs instead of human operators doing so. We start with the design of a biped robot with four actuators for one each for the hips and knees of each leg. Dynamics of the biped robot is then derived for simulation in which force applied by a human operator and a reaction from the ground are considered. A controller is presented for transporting objects up stairs having an unknown step height. Experimental results and photos confirm that the developed system successfully climbs the stairs of unknown height during human operation.