US Patent 8020649 Legged robot

A legged robot that ensures a large step length while keeping the height of the trunk low is realized. The legged robot is provided with a trunk, a pair of legs, and a pair of sliding joints. Each of the sliding joints links one end of each of the legs to the trunk so as to slide in a front and rear direction with respect to the trunk. For each step, one leg is caused to slide forward, and the other leg is caused to slide backward. It is possible to ensure a predetermined distance between the end portion of the one leg and the end portion of the other leg. The legged robot can make the step length large by an amount that is equivalent to this distance irrespective of the length of the legs.