Date of Award

Summer 8-22-2026

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

M.S. in Mechanical Engineering

Organizational Unit

Daniel Felix Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science, Mechanical and Materials Engineering

First Advisor

Matthew Gordon

Second Advisor

Casey Myers

Third Advisor

Mohammad H. Mahoor

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Keywords

Humanoid robots, Foot design, Design optimization, Anthropomorphic locomotion

Abstract

Bipedal locomotion remains one of the most challenging problems in robotics and biomechanical modeling due to its inherent instability, underactuation, and the complexity of human gait dynamics. This study presents the design and control of a planar bipedal walking model developed to analyze the role of ankle control in achieving stable and human-like walking patterns. Two configurations were investigated: a five-link point-foot model and a seven-link model that incorporates anatomically inspired feet with heel and toe contact points. Both models were formulated using Lagrangian dynamics and integrated with a compliant contact and friction model to reproduce realistic ground interaction forces. The control architecture was designed to regulate hip, knee, and ankle torques, including a push-off control strategy to emulate the human ankle’s contribution to propulsion. Simulation results demonstrated that both models achieve stable limit-cycle walking under the same control strategy.

Copyright Date

8-2026

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Guillermo E. Selva Barrantes

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

110 pgs

File Size

2.1 MB

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