In current RoboCup four-legged league the robots rely only on coloured landmarks for localisation. It is intended to remove these landmarks in a few years, as happened in other leagues. The odometry of four-legged robots is extremely unreliable and there is a high uncertainty in robot motion. Therefore, sensor-based localization is necessary. We propose to extend our previous technique for fuzz...

This paper describes a neural learning architecture for control of legged robots inspired by mammalian neurophysiology. Biological studies indicate that the cerebel-lum is a key part of an adaptive control system which enables mammals to display remarkable limb coordination during loco-motion. We present a distributed control system using reinforcement learning methods and mechanisms inspired b...

The spring-loaded inverted pendulum (SLIP) is a simple, passivelyelastic two-degree-of-freedom model for legged locomotion that describes the center-of-mass dynamics of many animal species and some legged robots. Conventionally, SLIP models employ a single support leg during stance and, while they can exhibit stable steady gaits when motions are confined to the sagittal plane, threedimensional ...

This paper deals with the vertical and longitudinal control of a mechanical system which interacts intermittently with the environment. The control approach is based on Controlled LimitCycle for performing the hopping motion, whereas a nonlinear energy based control law is used for longitudinal motion control. The study of this simple system permits a better comprehension of more complicated le...

We present a general motion planning algorithm for robotic systems with a “stratified” configuration space. Such systems include quasi-static legged robots and kinematic models of object manipulation by finger repositioning. Our method extends a nonlinear motion planning algorithm for smooth systems to the stratified case, where the relevant dynamics are not smooth. The method does not depend u...

This paper concerns motion plannings on kinematic model of six-legged robot from two distinct aspect. The system is subjected to intermittent nonholonomic constraints making the robot model strati ed which requires additional considerations in motion planning. An improved version of strati ed control is compared in this paper with an approach exploiting di erential atness of a restricted subsys...

In this study, we intend to show the basis of a general legged locomotion controller with the ability to integrate both posture and rhythmic motion controls and shift continuously from one control method to the other according to the walking speed. The rhythmic motion of each leg in the sagittal plane is generated by a single leg controller which controls the swing-to-stance and stance-toswing ...

Compared to agile legged animals, wheeled and tracked vehicles often suffer large performance loss on granular surfaces like sand and gravel. Understanding the mechanics of legged locomotion on granular media can aid the development of legged robots with improved mobility on granular surfaces; however, no general force model yet exists for granular media to predict ground reaction forces during...

A general approach to optimal motion synthesis of constrained multibody systems is presented. It applies to controlled mechanical systems such as industrial manipulators and legged-locomotion systems. An optimal control problem is stated. A parametric optimization technique based on approximating joint motion coordinates using spline functions of class C is developed to recast this primary prob...

Legged vehicles have attracted interest for many high-mobility applications, such as military troop support and logistics in rocky, steep, and forested terrain, scientific exploration of cliffs, mountains, and volcanoes on earth and other planets, and search and rescue. Humanoid robots have additional applications in homes and offices as personal assistants. But planning and controlling their m...