
Building Robots That Walk • Chapter 15 309
Making Bipeds Turn
Is it possible to make a biped robot turn? It is, though it’s definitely not an easy
task. Once again we invite you to experiment for yourself to find a working
strategy. Observe your feet while you walk slowly, taking short steps and going
straight: One foot is ahead of the other, but they remain parallel, as if they were
running on tracks. Now try to change direction, but only take the very first step.
If you look at your feet again, you notice that they are no longer parallel: the foot
that’s ahead is pointing in the new direction.
How can you emulate this behavior in your robot? By using ...