Owing to their complex structural design and control system, musculoskeletal robots struggle to execute complicated tasks such as turning with their limited range of motion. This study investigates the utilization of passive toe joints in the foot slip-turning motion of a musculoskeletal robot to turn on its toes with minimum movements to reach the desired angle while increasing the turning angle and its range of mobility. The different conditions of plantar intrinsic muscles (PIM) were also studied in the experiment to investigate the effect of actively controlling the stiffness of toe joints. The results show that the usage of toe joints reduced frictional torque and improved rotational angle. Meanwhile, the results of the toe-lifting angle show that the usage of PIM could contribute to preventing over-dorsiflexion of toes and possibly improving postural stability. Lastly, the results of ground reaction force show that the foot with different stiffness can affect the curve pattern. These findings contribute to the implementations of biological features and utilize them in bipedal robots to simplify their motions, and improve adaptability, regardless of their complex structure.
Keywords: foot contact area; foot structure; musculoskeletal robot; robot locomotion; slip-turning; toe joint.
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