Abstract
It is well known that a biped robot needs actuators to walk stably on level ground. Till now, a biped robot with torso has needed at least two actuators to achieve this. Would it be possible for this kind of robot to walk on level ground with only one actuator? This paper responds in the affirmative and proposes a simple control strategy for a planar biped robot with torso. In this control method, there is only one low gain proportional-derivative (PD) controller between the torso and the stance leg, while the swing leg remains totally free. The PD controller utilizes states of both the torso (angle and angular velocity) and the stance leg. The numerical simulations show that, by adopting this controller, a planar biped robot with torso can walk stably on level ground, and that the robot can walk with a wide range of speeds and high energy efficiency by changing the control parameters. Four period-one gaits, one of which is stable while the other three are unstable, are found by simulations. According to the literature surveyed, we are the first to have a torso only driven biped robot walk stably on level ground.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
McGeer T. Passive dynamic walking. INT J Robot Res, 1990, 9: 62–82
McGeer T. Stability and control of two-dimensional biped walking. Technical Report CSS-IS TR 88-01, Simon Fraser University. 1988
McGeer T. Dynamics and control of bipedal locomotion. J Theor Biol, 1993, 163: 277–314
Terumasa N, Masaki T, Kazuo Y. Numerical simulations of level ground walking based on passive walk for planar biped robots with torso by hip actuators. J Syst Des Dyn, 2008, 2: 463–474
Ambarish G, Bernard E, Ahmed K. Limit cycles in a passive compass gait biped and passivity-mimicking control laws. Auton Robots, 1997, 4: 273–286
Spong M W, Bullo F. Controlled symmetries and passive walking. IEEE Trans Automat Contr, 2005, 50: 1025–1031
Fumihiko A, Minoru H, Norihiro K, et al. Extended virtual passive dynamic walking and virtual passivity-mimicking control laws. In: International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Seoul, 2001. 3139–3144
Fumihiko A, Masaki Y, Norihiro K, et al. A novel gait generation for biped walking robots based on mechanical energy constraint. IEEE Trans Robotic Autom, 2004, 20: 565–573
Martijn W, Daan G E H, Arend L S, et al. Adding an upper body to passive dynamic walking robots by means of a bisecting hip mechanism. IEEE Trans Robot, 2007, 23: 112–123
Gomes M W, Andy R. A walking model with no energy cost. Phys Rev E, 2011, 83: 032901
Howell G W, Baillieul J. Simple controllable walking mechanisms which exhibit bifurcations. In: IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, Tampa, 1998. 3027–3032
Narukawa T, Takahashi M, Yoshida K. Biped locomotion on level ground by torso and swing-leg control based on passive-dynamic walking. In: IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Edmonton, 2005. 4009–4014
Masaki H, Masaki O, Koh H, et al. Yet another humanoid walking-passive dynamic walking with torso under simple control. In: International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Hawaii, 2001. 259–264
Hobbelen D G E. Limit cycle walking. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Delft: Delft University of Technology, 2008
Jesse W G, Gabriel A, Franck P. Asymptotically stable walking for biped robots: Analysis via systems with impulse effects. IEEE Trans Automat Contr, 2001, 46: 51–64
Martijn W. Essentials of dynamic walking. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Delft: Delft University of Technology, 2004
Ambarish G, Bernard E, Ahmed K. Limit cycles and their stability in a passive bipedal gait. In: International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Minneapolis, 1996. 246–251
Steve C, Andy R, Russ T, et al. Efficient bipedal robots based on passive-dynamic walkers. Science, 2005, 307: 1082–1085
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Feng, S., Al Yahmadi Amur, S. & Sun, Z. Biped walking on level ground with torso using only one actuator. Sci. China Inf. Sci. 56, 1–9 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11432-013-5009-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11432-013-5009-0