Morphological Computation in Robotic Hopping: The Role of Monoarticular and Biarticular Muscle Configurations

Murcia M, Mohseni O, Seyfarth A, Sawicki G, Sharbafi MA (2025)

Publication Type: Conference contribution

Publication year: 2025

Journal

IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems IEEE

Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.

Pages Range: 5236-5242

Conference Proceedings Title: IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems

Event location: Hangzhou, CHN

ISBN: 9798331543938

DOI: 10.1109/IROS60139.2025.11247193

Abstract

Human locomotion exhibits extraordinary adaptability and robustness, yet the mechanisms by which lower limbs adjust to sudden environmental disruptions remain poorly understood. To address this, we employed the bioinspired human-sized EPA-Hopper II robot to examine how lower-limb joints recover from an abrupt drop in ground height, mimicking unexpected perturbations encountered in natural settings. Our study investigates the roles of the monoarticular soleus (SOL) and biarticular gastrocnemius (GAS) muscle configurations, focusing on how their compliance influences the robot's hopping stability. Experiments reveal that a coordinated interplay between SOL and GAS markedly improves recovery from disturbances, enhancing energy distribution and joint synchronization. Detailed kinematic and power analyses show that GAS facilitates energy transfer across joints, while SOL's spring-like properties support rapid recovery. These results highlight how bioinspired muscle arrangements enable robust locomotion through intrinsic mechanical interactions. By leveraging a robotic platform to probe these dynamics, this work deepens our understanding of biological locomotion and informs the design of bioinspired bipedal robots and prosthetics capable of thriving in unpredictable environments.

Authors with CRIS profile

Omid Mohseni Shorgheini

Involved external institutions

Technische Universität Darmstadt DE Germany (DE) George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering US United States (USA) (US)

How to cite

APA:

Murcia, M., Mohseni, O., Seyfarth, A., Sawicki, G., & Sharbafi, M.A. (2025). Morphological Computation in Robotic Hopping: The Role of Monoarticular and Biarticular Muscle Configurations. In Christian Laugier, Alessandro Renzaglia, Nikolay Atanasov, Stan Birchfield, Grzegorz Cielniak, Leonardo De Mattos, Laura Fiorini, Philippe Giguere, Kenji Hashimoto, Javier Ibanez-Guzman, Tetsushi Kamegawa, Jinoh Lee, Giuseppe Loianno, Kevin Luck, Hisataka Maruyama, Philippe Martinet, Hadi Moradi, Urbano Nunes, Julien Pettre, Alberto Pretto, Tommaso Ranzani, Arne Ronnau, Silvia Rossi, Elliott Rouse, Fabio Ruggiero, Olivier Simonin, Danwei Wang, Ming Yang, Eiichi Yoshida, Huijing Zhao (Eds.), IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (pp. 5236-5242). Hangzhou, CHN: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc..

MLA:

Murcia, Marc, et al. "Morphological Computation in Robotic Hopping: The Role of Monoarticular and Biarticular Muscle Configurations." Proceedings of the 2025 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2025, Hangzhou, CHN Ed. Christian Laugier, Alessandro Renzaglia, Nikolay Atanasov, Stan Birchfield, Grzegorz Cielniak, Leonardo De Mattos, Laura Fiorini, Philippe Giguere, Kenji Hashimoto, Javier Ibanez-Guzman, Tetsushi Kamegawa, Jinoh Lee, Giuseppe Loianno, Kevin Luck, Hisataka Maruyama, Philippe Martinet, Hadi Moradi, Urbano Nunes, Julien Pettre, Alberto Pretto, Tommaso Ranzani, Arne Ronnau, Silvia Rossi, Elliott Rouse, Fabio Ruggiero, Olivier Simonin, Danwei Wang, Ming Yang, Eiichi Yoshida, Huijing Zhao, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2025. 5236-5242.

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