Design and Dynamic Locomotion Control of Quadruped Robot with Perception-Less Terrain Adaptation

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Control Systems
• Artificial Intelligence

Background:

• Dynamic locomotion in robots is challenging, especially on unstructured terrain.
• Perception-less adaptation requires sophisticated control and estimation techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement a quadrupedal robot capable of versatile dynamic locomotion.
• To develop a perception-less terrain adaptation method for robust movement.
• To validate the robot's performance through simulations and experiments.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a quadrupedal robot with symmetric legs and powerful actuators.
• A generalized least squares method for terrain parameter estimation using fused sensor data.
• Virtual Model Control (VMC) with Quadratic Programming (QP) for optimal foot force control.

Main Results:

• The robot demonstrated versatile dynamic locomotion on uneven terrain.
• Successful perception-less terrain adaptation and robust disturbance rejection.
• Simulation and experimental results confirmed the method's effectiveness and robustness.

Conclusions:

• The proposed method enables robust and versatile dynamic locomotion for quadrupedal robots.
• The system effectively adapts to uneven terrain without explicit perception.
• This approach enhances robot mobility in challenging, unstructured environments.