Optimized Method for Planning and Controlling the Somersault Motion of Quadruped Robot

Abstract

A method for planning and controlling the somersault motion of a quadruped robot is proposed in this paper. The method divides the somersault motion into 5 stages according to intuitive understanding. Based on the simplified dynamic model, the linear programming method is used to obtain the maximum ground reaction force under the constraints of joint torque and friction cone, and then the optimal leg thrusting trajectory is obtained by double integration of the acceleration. In order to achieve the buffered landing of the robot after somersault, a whole body controller based on null space projection is used to obtain the optimal joint torque under the constraints of the robot’s foot position, torso position and torso posture. The somersault motion control method proposed in this paper has been verified by the dynamics simulation software Webots and quadruped robot platform Yobogo. The results show that the robot can complete stable front flip and back flip under the constraints of joint output torque and foot motion space constraints.