Simulation of forward hopping dynamics in robots and animals using a template with a circular foot and impulsive actuation

Templates for hopping locomotion provide insights into stability and efficiency of biological systems which in turn can facilitate design principles for hopping robots to increase their robustness, agility and energy consumption. A novel template (mathematical model) is presented in detail and the resulting motion is compared to real world data of the hopping robot Cargo. The model requires no numerical integration for the state prediction of the next hop iteration, as an analytical description maps one touchdown state to the next. The results show that the template is capable of reproducing hopping behaviour of the robot Cargo and also demonstrates predictability of stride lengths of kangaroo rats and tammar wallabies when model parameters are adapted to according weight and energy consumption