Some Aspects of Switching Control in Robot Locomotion

Abstract

This paper gives an overview of some nonlinear control problems in bipedal locomotion, robot gymnastics, and robot air hockey and discusses some interesting interconnections among them. These problems are fundamentally related to the control of redundant and underactuated robots particularly with respect to the application of hybrid and switching control. We relate the general problem of switching control to problems of swingup and balance of gymnastic robots and gait control in bipedal locomotion and relate these ideas to impulsive manipulation, and robot air hockey.