Motion control of a quadruped robot in unknown rough terrains using 3D spring damper leg model

Abstract

This paper presents a simple method to control the motion of a quadruped robot in unknown rough terrains using a full dynamic model. First, using typical stiffness control method, the four legs' behavior is approximated to 3D spring damper systems. By this way, we can easily derive the dynamic equations of motion in Cartesian space. Based on these equations, a control strategy is proposed to obtain the asymptotical stability of the system. In addition, a reflex signal is also introduced to control the rotational disturbance of the robot body. Finally, dynamic simulation of a quadruped walking robot is performed on several unknown rough terrains to verify the proposed method.