Kangaroo is a prototype bipedal research platform for exploring advanced control methods for legged locomotion. The robot is lightweight with low moving inertia in the legs and suitable for highly dynamic motions such as jumping and running. Each leg has 6 DoF, and a mass of 12.5 kg mostly located in the upper part so that the mechanical design allows for impact resilience and reduced energy consumption.
Kangaroo uses an actuation system for the extension and contraction of the leg that is implemented with only one motor, in contrast to other robots that use multiple actuators at the hip, knee, and ankle. The decoupling of the leg length and hip swing motions with Kangaroo makes the system highly efficient.
Kangaroo uses a new generation of in-house electronics boards for motor control and sensor acquisition. This choice allows embedding custom and decentralized closed-loop force/torque controllers at the joint level and provides flexibility for experimenting with different control algorithms and obtaining the best performance.
