The Biped Robotics team studies the dynamics and kinematics of biped locomotion, from a robotics point of view. Biped locomotion is an effective means of transportation, as it requires minimum energetic input and offers the motion agility associated with legged locomotion. The design of bipedal robots is inspired by the walking mechanisms observed in bipedal species in general, while human-like locomotion patterns offer an increased scientific interest. Our team seeks to study the fundamental mechanisms of bipedal locomotion, by studying a simplified model of bipedal walking. As the basic walking functions observed in humans are gradually attributed to functional mechanical elements, our models’ complexity is slowly increased to accommodate more detailed and human-like walking emulations.

For complete publications list see here

• Smyrli, A., Bertos, G., and Papadopoulos, E., “A generalized model for compliant passive bipedal walking: sensitivity analysis and implications on bionic leg design,” ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, accepted April 2021.

• Vasileiou, C., Smyrli, A., Drogosis, A., and Papadopoulos, E., “Development of a passive biped robot digital twin using analysis, experiments, and a multibody simulation environment,” Mechanisms and Machine Theory, accepted March 27, 2021.

• Smyrli, A. and Papadopoulos, E., “A methodology for the incorporation of arbitrarily-shaped feet in passive bipedal walking dynamics,” Proc. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA ’20), Paris, France, May 31-June 4, 2020.

• Smyrli, A., Ghiassi, M., Kecskemethy, A., and Papadopoulos, E., “On the effect of semielliptical foot shape on the energetic efficiency of passive bipedal gait,” Proc. IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS ’19), Macau, China, Nov. 4-8, 2019.

• Smyrli, A., Bertos, G., and Papadopoulos, E., “Efficient stabilization of zero-slope walking for bipedal robots following their passive fixed-point trajectories,” Proc. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA ’18), Brisbane, Australia, May 21-25, 2018.