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Robot feet are crucial for maintaining dynamic stability and propelling thebody during walking, especially on uneven terrains. Traditionally, robot feetwere mostly designed as flat and stiff pieces of metal, which meets itslimitations when the robot is required to step on irregular grounds, e.g.stones. While one could think that adding compliance under such feet wouldsolve the problem, this is not the case. To address this problem, we introducedthe SoftFoot, an adaptive foot design that can enhance walking performance overirregular grounds. The proposed design is completely passive and varies itsshape and stiffness based on the exerted forces, through a system of pulley,tendons, and springs opportunely placed in the structure. This paper outlinesthe motivation behind the SoftFoot and describes the theoretical model whichled to its final design. The proposed system has been experimentally tested andcompared with two analogous conventional feet, a rigid one and a compliant one,with similar footprints and soles. The experimental validation focuses on theanalysis of the standing performance, measured in terms of the equivalentsupport surface extension and the compensatory ankle angle, and the rejectionof impulsive forces, which is important in events such as stepping onunforeseen obstacles. Results show that the SoftFoot has the largest equivalentsupport surface when standing on obstacles, and absorbs impulsive loads in away almost as good as a compliant foot.

Analytical Model and Experimental Testing of the SoftFoot: an Adaptive Robot Foot for Walking over Obstacles and Irregular Terrains