Optimal gait switching for legged locomotion

Abstract

Switching gaits in many-legged robots can present challenges due to the combinatorial nature of the gait space. In this paper we present an intrinsically safe gait switching generator that minimizes the velocity variance of all the legs in stance, allowing for smooth acceleration in legged robots. The gait switching generator is modeled as a max-plus linear discrete event system which is translated to continuous time via a reference trajectory generator.