Abstract
This paper details the design, construction, and performance analysis of a biologically inspired knee joint for use in bipedal robotics. The design copies the condylar surfaces of the distal end of the femur and utilizes the same crossed four-bar linkage design the human knee uses. The joint includes a changing center of rotation, a screw-home mechanism, and patella; these are characteristics of the knee that are desirable to copy for bipedal robotics. The design was calculated to have an average sliding to rolling ratio of 0.079, a maximum moment arm of 2.7 in and a range of motion of 151°. This should reduce wear and perform similar to the human knee. Prototypes of the joint have been created to test these predicted properties.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the support of the Mechanical and Materials Engineering Department in the Maseeh College of Engineering at Portland State University and the support of the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under grant reference EP/P022588/1.
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Steele, A.G., Hunt, A., Etoundi, A.C. (2018). Biomimetic Knee Design to Improve Joint Torque and Life for Bipedal Robotics. In: Giuliani, M., Assaf, T., Giannaccini, M. (eds) Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems. TAROS 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10965. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96728-8_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96728-8_8
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