On the dynamics of a quadruped robot model with impedance control: Self-stabilizing high speed trot-running and period-doubling bifurcations

The MIT Cheetah demonstrated a stable 6 m/s trot gait in the sagittal plane utilizing the self-stable characteristics of locomotion. This paper presents a numerical analysis of the behavior of a quadruped robot model with the proposed controller. We first demonstrate the existence of periodic trot g...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lee, Jongwoo, Hyun, Dong Jin, Ahn, Jooeun, Kim, Sangbae, Hogan, Neville
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98282
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0218-6801
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5366-2145
Description
Summary:The MIT Cheetah demonstrated a stable 6 m/s trot gait in the sagittal plane utilizing the self-stable characteristics of locomotion. This paper presents a numerical analysis of the behavior of a quadruped robot model with the proposed controller. We first demonstrate the existence of periodic trot gaits at various speeds and examine local orbital stability of each trajectory using Poincar`e map analysis. Beyond the local stability, we additionally demonstrate the stability of the model against large initial perturbations. Stability of trot gaits at a wide range of speed enables gradual acceleration demonstrated in this paper and a real machine. This simulation study also suggests the upper limit of the command speed that ensures stable steady-state running. As we increase the command speed, we observe series of period-doubling bifurcations, which suggests presence of chaotic dynamics beyond a certain level of command speed. Extension of this simulation analysis will provide useful guidelines for searching control parameters to further improve the system performance.