Gait-Dependent Effects on Quadruped Locomotion for Load-Carrying using Passive Mechanism

RESUMO

Passive mechanical interfaces offer a lightweight alternative to actuated manipulators for quadruped payload carrying, but their impedance directly couples the payload dynamics with the locomotion pattern. This paper analyzes how passive-arm stiffness-damping selection affects payload-carrying locomotion under different gait and payload conditions. We compare damped and underdamped passive-arm impedance configurations in simulation during flat-ground locomotion. For crawl gaits, where the support polygon remains well defined, the results show that underdamped impedance increases passive-joint oscillations and can reduce the ZMP margin with respect to the support polygon. Trot is retained as a dynamic excitation case for the passive arm, but it is not used for direct ZMP-margin stability comparison. The results are summarized in gait-payload-stiffness-damping maps, where ZMP-margin reduction is evaluated for crawl gaits and trot is retained only as a passive-arm excitation case.