To date, various methods using the concept of neural circuit or so-called central pattern generators (CPGs) have been proposed to create agile locomotion for legged robots. In contrast to these approaches, in this article we propose a polymorphic neural circuit that allows the dynamic change of its properties according to the current situation in real time to be employed instead. To this end, t...

Simple intuitive control strategies can be used to compel bipedal robots to walk over sloped terrain. We describe an algorithm for walking dynamically and steadily over sloped terrain with unknown slope gradients and transition locations. The algorithm is developed based on geometric considerations. The overall algorithm is very simple and does not require the biped to have an extensive sensory...

This paper presents the main simulation and experimental results from studies of the robustness of a proposed new control strategy for the under-actuated robot RABBIT. The disturbances studied include modifications of the characteristics of the foot/ground interaction and the application of external forces to the trunk of the robot. These two kinds of disturbance correspond to those most freque...

Trajectories generated from approximate dynamics models can lead biped robots to fall down due to the difference of dynamics between the approximate dynamics model and the real robot. In this paper, we propose real time methods to compensate for the dynamics error using dynamics error compensation models. Our methods satisfy the horizontal ground reaction force and moment limits so that no slip...

One key problem to achieve a dynamically stable walking motion with biped robots is to measure and control the actual state of the robot with respect to its environment. Dynamically stable walking on unstructured terrain and fast walking can only be achieved with an orientation sensor. The control system of the biped robot “Johnnie” is designed such that the orientation of the upper body is con...

An optimal robust state feedback tracking controller is introduced to control a biped robot. In the literature, the parameters of the controller are usually determined by a tedious trial and error process. To eliminate this process and design the parameters of the proposed controller, the multiobjective evolutionary algorithms, that is, the proposed method, modified NSGAII, Sigma method, and MA...

A Genetic Algorithm (GA) gait synthesis method for walking biped robots is considered in this paper. The walking occupy most of the time during the task performance, therefore its gait is analyzed based on the minimum consumed energy (CE) and minimum torque change (TC). The biped robot optimal gait is considered starting from static standing state and continuing with normal walking. The propose...

Biped robot control techniques are usually based on the tracking of pre-computed reference trajectories. Therefore, to achieve autonomy in locomotion, it is necessary to store a set of trajectories handling all the possible situations and events the system is susceptible to encounter. This paper presents a method for the generation of walking gaits for biped robots. Theses gaits define locomoti...

This paper describes a novel control algorithm for dynamic walking of biped humanoid robots. For the test platform, we developed KHR-2 (KAIST Humanoid Robot-2) according to our design philosophy. KHR-2 has many sensory devices analogous to human sensory organs which are particularly useful for biped walking control. First, for the biped walking motion, the motion control architecture is built a...

A real-time hybrid control architecture for biped humanoid robots is proposed. The architecture is modular and hierarchical. The main robot’s functionalities are organized in four parallel modules: perception, actuation, world-modeling, and hybrid control. Hybrid control is divided in three behavior-based hierarchical layers: the planning layer, the deliberative layer, and the reactive layer, w...