A simple model for clock-actuated legged locomotion

The spring-loaded inverted pendulum (SLIP) model describes well the steady-state center-of-mass motions of a diverse range of walking and running animals and robots. Here we ask whether the SLIP model can also explain the dynamic stability of these gaits, and we find that it cannot do so in many physically-relevant parameter ranges. We develop an actuated, lossy, clock-torqued SLIP, or CT-SLIP, with more realistic hip-motor torque inputs, that can capture the robust stability properties observed in most animals and some legged robots. Variations of CT-SLIP at a similar level of detail and complexity may also be appropriate for capturing the whole-system center-of-mass dynamics of locomotion of legged animals and robots varying widely in size and morphology. This paper contributes to a broader program to develop mathematical models, at varied levels of detail, that capture the dynamics of integrated organismal systems exhibiting integrated whole-body motion.