{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,30]],"date-time":"2025-07-30T16:31:24Z","timestamp":1753893084891,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,29]],"date-time":"2024-07-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1722211200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000781","name":"European Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["810346"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["810346"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000781","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Robot. AI"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Biped robots usually adopt feet with a rigid structure that simplifies walking on flat grounds and yet hinders ground adaptation in unstructured environments, thus jeopardizing stability. We recently explored in the SoftFoot the idea of adapting a robotic foot to ground irregularities along the sagittal plane. Building on the previous results, we propose in this paper a novel robotic foot able to adapt both in the sagittal and frontal planes, similarly to the human foot. It features five parallel modules with intrinsic longitudinal adaptability that can be combined in many possible designs through optional rigid or elastic connections. By following a methodological design approach, we narrow down the design space to five candidate foot designs and implement them on a modular system. Prototypes are tested experimentally via controlled application of force, through a robotic arm, onto a sensorized plate endowed with different obstacles. Their performance is compared, using also a rigid foot and the previous SoftFoot as a baseline. Analysis of footprint stability shows that the introduction of the transverse arch, by elastically connecting the five parallel modules, is advantageous for obstacle negotiation, especially when obstacles are located under the forefoot. In addition to biped robots\u2019 locomotion, this finding might also benefit lower-limb prostheses design.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/frobt.2024.1375515","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,29]],"date-time":"2024-07-29T04:10:24Z","timestamp":1722226224000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Investigating the performance of soft robotic adaptive feet with longitudinal and transverse arches"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Anna","family":"Pace","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Giorgio","family":"Grioli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alice","family":"Ghezzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Antonio","family":"Bicchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Manuel G.","family":"Catalano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1109\/IROS.2016.7759377","article-title":"Human mimetic foot structure with multi-dofs and multi-sensors for musculoskeletal humanoid kengoro","author":"Asano","year":"2016"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"225","DOI":"10.1016\/j.morpho.2021.07.005","article-title":"The transverse arch in the human feet: a narrative review of its evolution, anatomy, biomechanics and clinical implications","volume":"106","author":"Asghar","year":"2021","journal-title":"Morphologie"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2491","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.025767","article-title":"A dynamic model of the windlass mechanism of the foot: evidence for early stance phase preloading of the plantar aponeurosis","volume":"212","author":"Caravaggi","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. 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