System Dynamics-Based Mapping for Closed Loop Control

Abstract

This paper focuses on obstacle avoidance using the walking gait and vision. Inspiration for the gaits was drawn from behaviors found in nature as well as prior contributions in the field of robotic locomotion. A quadrupedal robotic platform was designed and fabricated to support these studies and experiments. The walking gait was implemented on the platform using inverse kinematics and a map was developed connecting the system dynamics to the extrinsic control parameters, namely, the stride length of the robot and the turn of each leg. The paper has implications in path planning for bio-inspired robots in rough terrains. The goal of the research is the synthesis and evaluation of increasingly dynamic quadrupedal locomotion gaits like walking, trotting, and hopping for navigation over unknown terrain.