Trajectory Planning for Bipedal Locomotion of a Duck-Inspired Robot

Nowadays, amphibious robots demonstrate significant potential in fields such as disaster relief and environmental monitoring. In response to these applications, this study plans the leg trajectory of a duck-inspired robot based on the motion trajectory and characteristics of real ducks, aiming to enhance the robot’s adaptability and operational efficiency in complex aquatic and terrestrial environments. To design the duck-like gait, this paper analyzes motion videos of real ducks frame by frame. Using the DeepLabCut algorithm and geometric analysis, we identify key leg points. The joint angle change curve of the real duck and the spatial motion trajectory of the metatarsophalangeal joint are obtained by cubic spline interpolation. Finally, we use inverse kinematics to determine the robot’s joint rotation angles, providing a reference for designing the duck-inspired robot’s motion gait.