Abstract
This paper reports a toe speed control approach to achieving complex gaits with the Jansen linkage mechanism. In order to achieve complex gaits, delicate control of the toe is required. Since, the Jansen linkage mechanism is a closed loop linkage mechanism, the trajectory of the toe is defined uniquely by the set of link lengths. Hence, by controlling the toe speed, the locomotion of the toe can be controlled arbitrarily in response to intended purposes of its gait pattern. In this paper, we proved that the norm of the toe speed bears a proportionate relationship to the angular velocity of the driving link in a Jansen mechanism based robot platform. Using this relationship as basis, we derived the angular trajectory that results in a constant toe speed in the robot platform. Numerical simulations were performed to demonstrate the efficacy and validity of the proposed approach.