Biologically-plausible six-legged running : control and simulation

Abstract

This thesis presents a controller which produces a stable, dynamic 1.4 meter per sec-ond run in a simulated twelve degree of freedom six-legged robot. The algorithm is relatively simple; it consists of only a few hand-tuned feedback loops and is defined by a total of 13 parameters. The control utilizes no vestibular-type inputs to actively control orientation. Evidence from perturbation, robustness, motion analysis, and parameter sensitivity tests indicate a high degree of stability in the simulated gait. The control approach generates a run with an aerial phase, utilizes force information to signal aerial phase leg retraction, has a forward running velocity determined by a single parameter, and couples stance and swing legs using angular momentum infor-mation. Both the hypotheses behind the control and the resulting gait are argued to