IEEE International Workshop on Intelligent Robots and Systems

IROS '90

HOW MANY DEGREES-OF-FREEDOM DOES A BIPED NEED?

Fred R. Sias, Jr. and Yuan F. Zheng*
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
and the Center for Advanced Manufacturing
Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA 29634
viously, a measure of stability called the stability
margin has been defined [ 1][2]. The stability margin (SM) is the minimum distance from the projection of the robot center of gravity on the supporting
surface to the edge of the rectangle (or other shape)
delimiting the supporting area. Figure 1 illustrates
the concept of stability margin.

Abstract: One of the primary motivations for designing a biped robot is to perform tasks in environments that are too dangerous for human beings. To
be a satisfactory substitute for a human being the robot must be able to enter a region originally designed
for human access and perform tasks that are not already automated and normally require the capabilities of a person. One measure of the success of a
biped design is how well it can emulate the agility of
a human being. This paper examines the degrees of
freedom required for a biped robot to emulate the
"most significant" gaits and standing reflexes of a human counterpart. The first concern is the number of
degrees of freedom required to provide a stable platform. Additional degrees-of-freedom will be added
to enable the biped to perform locomotion gaits that
permit human agility. The actuator torque required
for each degree of freedom is also considered.

A second concept that is important in understanding

biped stability is called the stability index. Given a
high-friction supporting surface, the stability index
(SI) and the weight of the biped determine the
amount of horizontal force required to tip the biped
over. Using some trigonometric identities and setting the torque produced by F equal to the torque
produced by the mass of the torso, it can be shown
that
F = Mg x SM/h
(1)
and
F=MgxSI
(2)

1. INTRODUCTION

where SI = S M h . Both SM and SI are maximized to

produce a stable biped robot. SI can be maximized

Useful biped robots need feet; it is not possible for a

passive platform to stand in a single, stable position if
it is supported on only two points; however, a dynamic system can balance on two points like stilts if
the supporting points are allowed to move and are
controlled by a sufficiently sophisticated control system. The stiff-legged stilt biped must remain in a
continual state of motion to maintain balance.
A biped suitable for performing useful work should
be able to provide a motionless platform and dynamic stability is not suitable. The stability margin in
the sagittal (fore and aft) plane of a biped can be improved by placing feet on the ends of the legs. The
stable region for the projection of the center of
gravity on the supporting surface is no longer a line
but is, instead, a rectangular area as wide as the foot
length and as long as the separation of the feet. Pre-

*On leave at Ohio State University.

External Force F

1
h

Figure 1. Biped diagram showing Stability Margin.

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Stability

Margin

Unstable

The leg and foot of the human being has a total of 30

degrees of freedom [ 3 ] . The hip joint of a person is a
ball and socket joint with three degrees of freedom.
The knee is basically a hinge joint but some additional movement is possible so the joint may be considered to have two degrees of freedom. The ankle is
basically a one-degree-of- freedom hinge joint but
there are many degrees of freedom in the foot due to
the large number of bones in the foot. The six independent bones in the tarsal region just below the ankle have the effect of producing a 3-DOF ankle joint.
Eiped robots have been built with as few as 4 degrees of freedom per leg. The objective of this analysis is to determine the minimum number of degrees
of freedom per lower extremity that is required for
both simplicity and optimum agility.

UNSTABLE - No Stability Margin

2. HIP-JOINT AND ANKLE JOINT

DEGREES OF FREEDOM
Figure 2 is zn exaggerated illustration of the movements required in the frontal plane for a biped to
maintain stability -on uneven suifaces. Two degrees
of freedom in each leg are required to maintain stability in the frontal plane. Of course, an additional
two degrees of freedom in the sagittal plane are required to permit three-dimensional alteration of the
supporting surface.
Stability

Margin

Figure 2. Movements required in frontal plane to

maintain stability on uneven surfaces.
both by increasing SM or decreasing h, the height of
the center of gravity above the supporting surface.
Some biped robots have been designed with very
large feet to maximize the region of stability which,
in turn, maximizes both the stability margin and the
stability index. However, large feet decrease the agility of the biped and a compromize between stability
and agility must be made. As the size of the region
of stability between the feet is decreased, the sensitivity of the control system that corrects for shifts in
center of gravity must be increased. In addition,
two degrees of freedom must be placed in the ankle
joint to permit the soles of the feet to remain in contact with the ground or supporting surface. Thus we
must have hip and ankle joints with a total of four degrees of freedom in each leg to permit the center of
gravity to be moved freely to maintain a stable
stance.

In addition to movements required to maintain stability, the same joints must be able to exert torques to
resist external forces that tend to topple the biped. It
should be noted that the stability index becomes important when the biped is required to perform useful
work that either resists or exerts horizontal forces.
For example, if a horizontal force is exerted to pull
on a wrench, the joints may be locked and the mass
of the biped, the supporting surface friction against
the feet, and the stability index determine the amount
of horizontal force that can be exerted. If the feet do
not slide, equation (2) derived earlier shows that the
force that can be exerted on the wrench handle is
equal to SI x W where W is the weight of the robot.
The SD-2 prototype biped (known as CURnI) was
constructed at Clemson University in 1986 with four
degrees of freedom in each leg. Using this biped,
static and dynamic gaits have been demonstrated as
well as slope and stair climbing [4][5][6]17]. While
all of the above gaits have been achieved with only
four degrees of freedom in each leg, some of the
movements are very awkward due to the absence of
a knee joint. While walking, the leg must be swung
sideways to lift a non-supporting foot instead of
merely lifting the foot by bending the knee. In ad298 -

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dition, very awkward movements of the torso are required to maintain a suitable stability margin while
climbing stairs or a slope.
3. FIVE DEGREE OF FREEDOM LEGS
A knee joint, resulting in two five degree of freedom

legs, solves a number of problems associated with

traversing uneven surfaces or climbing stairs. Figure 3A illustrates the movements required for a
biped with four-degree-of-freedom legs to climb
stairs. Figure 3B shows the much less awkward
movement required if knee joints are added to the
biped legs. The human being knee joints are basically simple one-degree-of-freedom hinge joints. Evolution has demonstrated the importance of this additional degree of freedom.
Figure 3. Stair climbing with (A) 4-DOF legs and
(B) with 5-DOF legs.

A joint that permits the foot to be raised vertically

from the ground rather than swung to the side is

found in several animal species. Quadrupeds such as
dogs and horses have such a hinge joint, however,
the hinge is reversed when compared to the bipeds.
The heel has become the "reversed" knee and part of
the "foot" is elongated into a lower leg in a number
of quadrupeds. Of course, four legged animak d q
not have to have a significant foot and walk on their
toes thus evolution has allowed the heel joint to provide the most significant motion for raising the foot
above the ground in order to step over uneven surfaces or climb stairs.
We may thus conclude that a hinge joint of some sort
is required in the sagittal plane to permit a legged
mechanism to traverse uneven ground or climb stairs
without the extremely awkward shifts of the center of
gravity that are required by a biped with four-link
legs. The hinge joint may bend either forward or
backwards but some sort of joint is required that permits the foot to be raised vertically from the ground.
However, is five degrees of freedom per leg sufficient for effective biped locomotion and agility?
4. HIP ROTATION
Six degrees of freedom can be achieved by adding a
vertical axis at the hip joint orthogonal to the other
two hip axes. The hip is then analogous to the human
hip which is a ball and socket joint with three degree;
of freedom. The third hip axis permits the leg to rotate and allows the biped to walk in a circle. Without
the vertical hip joint axis the foot cannot be extended
in a direction other than directly forward or backwards. The vertical hip-joint axis is necessary to
permit the robot to change walking direction.

To walk in a circle it is necessary for the biped to

stand on one foot and lift the other foot while shifting
the center of gravity over the supporting foot. The
non-supporting foot is extended in the new direction
and planted on the ground. Next the biped must shift
the center of gravity over the new supporting foot
while the trailing foot is raised and torque at the hip
of the new supporting leg rotates the body to face in
the new direction,
5. THE ANKLE

The human ankle is basically a hinge joint with one

degree of freedom. However, several tarsal bones
combine to produce an joint between the leg and foot
that has three degrees of freedom. Two degrees of.
freedom are required so that the leg can move in
different directions to maintain equilibrium when the
hip joint moves. This was shown in Figure 2. In addition a third degree of freedom with a vertical axis
is available that can be used to rotate the foot. The
extra degree of freedom is unnecessary for most gaits
used for locomotion but would be quite valuable
when the biped is in unusual attitudes or on irregular
surfaces such as when climbing. A biped without ankle-joint rotation would be unsuccessful as a rock
climber.
6. T H E F O O T

The human foot is composed of 22 bones that make

it quite flexible and permit several degrees of freedom. The toes make a variety of additional movements possible. Flexion of all the toes permits a
gait not possible with a flat foot with degrees of

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freedom limited to the ankle joint. Figure 4 shows

how flexion of the foot permits a longer stride with
less severe movements of the torso to maintain thc
center of gravity over the supporting foot. By flexing the foot, a stance with both feet on the ground
can be maintained during a longer stride while the
center of gravity is shifted to the forward foot. A
one-degree-of-freedom flexure of the foot is necessary for a biped to shift from the shuffling flatfooted gait of early biped robots to a more agile anthropomorphic gait.
Records of the horizontal components of force during slow and fast walking demonstrate that the flexed
rear foot is used to push off to a much greater extent
during fast walking [8]. Flexure of the foot permits
a much more effective push off by the rear foot.
Studies reported in [9] show that postural balance is
maintained by several mechanisms that include vestibular and visual feedback. Corrective movements
are made at both the ankle and hip joints. It is also
possible that some postural corrections are made by
flexing individual toes. A neurological disease
known as Tabes dorsalis results in a severe loss of
postural reflexes, particularly when visual cues are
lost [lo]. Since primarily sensory neurons are damaged in the disease, the syndrome shows the importance of sensors in the feet and joints in controlling
balance.
Individual toe flexure may be of some importance in
some activities such as climbing. However, with the
advent of heavy soled shoes it is unclear whether
there is any significance to foot degrees of freedom
other than the flexure of all the toes mentioned
above during high speed walking. It is likely that.
most gaits can be accomplished with a two-piece foot
with a single degree of freedom at the ball of the
foot.
7. HOW MANY DEGREES OF FREEDOM?

Figure 4. Increase in stride by flexing foot.

tion. A third degree of rotational freedom is required at the ankle for the foot to be oriented
properly when climbing or stepping on an irregular
surface. The 3-degree-of-freedom ankle joint is
analogous to the 3-DOF wrist used on industrial robots basically for tool orientation. A biped with 6degree-of-freedom legs could walk and change direction on flat and uneven ground, however, sudden discontinuities or steps would pose a significant barrier.
The single DOF knee joint is required to raise the
foot vertically to climb stairs without very unusual
postural adjustments. Also a knee joint flexing forward is necessary for a biped to sit on furniture designed for human beings. Seven-degree-of-freedom
robot legs could walk reasonably well and could
climb stairs, however, a final degree of freedom at
the ball of the foot would permit a longer and more
rapid gait. We feel that an 8-DOF biped leg could be
programmed to have a gait approximating that of the
human being.

8. JOINT TORQUE REQUIREMENTS

While it is possible to design a functional biped with
only 4 degrees of freedom in each leg, several additional degrees of freedom are required for the robot
to approach the agility of a human being. The above
discussion has shown the two degrees of freedom are
required at both the hip and ankle for the biped to
stand on uneven ground. The same degrees of freedom are required to permit postural reflexes that
counteract external forces on the torso of the biped.

A significant problem in the design of a biped is the

determination of the torque that must be exerted by
the actuators that control each of the joints in the leg,
ankle or foot. Considerable on-board mass can be
saved by providing only the torque required to actuate each joint. An analysis of the function of various
muscles in the human body provides useful information reqarding the torque requirements of various
joints of a robot biped.

We have demonstrated that at least hip rotation is required to permit the biped to change walking direc- 300

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Three muscles groups in the human leg are required

to support and raise the entire weight of the body.
These muscles are the most powerful muscles in the
body and two are called extensor muscles to resist
the force of gravity. The largest muscle in the body
is the qluteus maximus which is the extensor muscle
of the buttocks. The muscle does not play a significant role in walking, however, it is important in
climbing, for example. The second large muscle is
the quadriceps femorus on the front surface of the
thigh which is used to extend the knee joint. Very
high torque is required at the knee joint for a biped
to rise from a crouching to a standing position. Finally, the gastrocnemius muscle in the calf of the leg
must provide a very high torque to raise the entire
body onto the toes or when supporting the entire
body weight on the ball of the foot. Each of these
gravity support muscles must have sufficient torque
on each leg to rotate the joint when the entire body
weight is on one leg. The minimum acceptable
torque is a function of the biped weight and the mechanical advantage of the supporting limb when at its
most acute angular position. Additional torque is required to accelerate the body mass more rapidly.

A flexible joint in the foot, analogous to the toes,

could be designed with a low torque drive if the foot
is used primarily for support during a walking gait
as shown in Figure 4. The thrust for fast walking is
primarily obtained by dorsoflexing the ankle which
is very powerful. Straightening the foot would occur
while the foot is unloaded and little drive torque is
required.
4

9. CONCLUSIONS

This analysis has demonstrated that biped agility is

severely constrained by the degrees of freedom incorporated in the legs, ankle and feet. Selection of
the degrees of freedom clearly defines the potential
application of a biped robot. A full understanding
of the function of the various degrees of freedom in
the human lower extremity will help design a robot
biped that is able to meet specific functional capabilities.
Zheng [2] demonstrated that a biped can be constructed with only 4 degrees of freedom in each extremity.
However, some of the gaits of a biped with only 4
degrees of freedom are extremely awkward. In addition, the torque required in some joints to handle
the exteme postural positions is greater than would
be required with more degrees of freedom.

Torques in various joint motions may be measured.

in the human subjects under a number of conditions
using Cybex isokinetic testing equipment. According to the instruction handbook "a typical healthy individual may easily exceed 240 foot pounds in hip
extension through a large range of motion. A big,
well-conditioned athlete can easily exceed 400 foot
pounds in hip extension and some may exceed 240
foot pounds in flexion, abduction, or adduction"
Ill]. The majority of the body weight is raised by
the extensor muscles just described.

Of particular importance for more anthropomorphic

gaits are the knee joints and a flexure joint at the ball
of the foot. It is the conclusion of this analysis that 8
degrees of freedom are required in each leg-foot extremity to permit a good approximation of human
gaits by a biped robot.

REFERENCES
Based on the above findings in typical males, it
would be reasonable to design hip flexor/extensor,
hip abduction/adduction, knee extensor, and ankle
flexor actuators to produce about 250 foot pounds
of torque if the robot weight is similar to an average
man (e.g., 154 pounds or 70 kilograms). Hip rotason could be much less, for example 25 foot pounds,
since hip rotation is generally accomplished while the
!et is unloaded.
Ankle rotation also would be accomplished on an unIoaded limb so a design with a 25 foot pound torque
would be appropriate. Ankle movements in the frontal plane, however, are used fer balance corrections
-hat are similar to the to the hip abduction/adduction
novements. Thus a starting design would be to make
this joint as strong as the hip, or 250 foot pounds
:orque.

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Robots. John Wiley, New York, 1984.

[4] M. N. Rao. Design and Computer Control of

Two Biped Robots. MS Thesis, Clemson University,
1987.

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[5] Y. Fan. Force Analysis and Control of Biped

Robot Contacts with Environments. MS Thesis,
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(61 J. Golden. Realization of a Stair CIirnOirzg Gait

witlt a Robot Biped. MS Thesis, Clemson University, 1989.
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[8] R. M. Alexander. Locomotion of Animals

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