Elastically suspended loads can reduce the energetic cost and peak forces of legged robot locomotion. However, legged locomotion frequently exhibits multiple frequency modes due to variable leg contact times, body pitch and roll, and transient locomotion dynamics. We used a simple hexapod robot to investigate the effect of multiple frequency components on the energetic cost, dynamics, and peak forces of legged robot locomotion using a high-speed motion tracking system and the fast Fourier transform (FFT). The trajectories of the robot body and the suspended load revealed that the robot was excited by both a body pitching frequency and the primary locomotion frequency. Both frequency modes affected the dynamics of the legged robot as the natural frequency of the elastic load suspension was varied. When the natural frequency of the load suspension was reduced below the primary locomotion and body pitching frequencies, the robot consumed less average power with an elastically suspended load versus a rigidly attached load. To generalize the experimental results more broadly, a modified double-mass coupled-oscillator model with experimental parameters was shown to qualitatively predict the energetic cost and dynamics of legged robot locomotion with an elastically suspended load. The experimental results and the theoretical model could help researchers better understand locomotion with elastically suspended loads and design load suspension systems that are optimized to reduce the energetic cost and peak forces of legged locomotion.
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