Walking Control Algorithm based on Polynomial Trajectory Generation

Humanoid walking trajectory is a complex task, due the high number of degrees of freedom (DOFs) and changes on the mechanical structure during walking. A non-trivial problem in bipedal robot walking is the instability produced by violent transitions between different walk phases. This work presents a trajectory generation algorithm for a biped robot. The algorithm is based on cubic Hermitian polynomial interpolation of the initial conditions of the robot. This algorithm guarantees a smooth transition in the walking phases reducing significantly the tendency for falling down when the walking speed increases or the terrain conditions changes. The algorithm was successfully tested on the biped robot “Dany walker”, which was designed at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany and the University of Guadalajara, México.