Animals possessing spinal columns often exhibit exceptional agility for highly dynamic
locomotion. The spine grants the trunk with increased degrees of freedom, thereby …

This paper introduces a way to systematically investigate the effect of compliant prismatic
spines in quadrupedal robot locomotion. We develop a novel spring-loaded lockable spine …

The waist plays a crucial role in the agile movement of many animals in nature. It provides
the torso with additional degrees of freedom and flexibility, inspiring researchers to …

Notation conventions for rigid transformations are as diverse as they are fundamental to the
field of robotics. A well-defined convention that is practical, consistent and unambiguous is …

Existing research into the spinal morphology of quadruped robots predominantly simplifies it
to a single degree of freedom (DOF) structure, a simplification that is valid for most …

Despite considerable advancements in recent years, legged robots still fall short in terms of
agility when compared to their animal counterparts. This thesis takes a two-pronged …