RENet: Fault-Tolerant Motion Control for Quadruped Robots via Redundant Estimator Networks Under Visual Collapse

Abstract

Vision-based locomotion in outdoor environments presents significant challenges for quadruped robots. Accurate environmental prediction and effective handling of depth sensor noise during real-world deployment remain difficult, severely restricting the outdoor applications of such algorithms. To address these deployment challenges in vision-based motion control, this letter proposes the Redundant Estimator Network (RENet) framework. The framework employs a dual-estimator architecture that ensures robust motion performance while maintaining deployment stability during onboard vision failures. Through an online estimator adaptation, our method enables seamless transitions between estimation modules when handling visual perception uncertainties. Experimental validation on a real-world robot demonstrates the framework's effectiveness in complex outdoor environments, showing particular advantages in scenarios with degraded visual perception. This framework demonstrates its potential as a practical solution for reliable robotic deployment in challenging field conditions. Project website: <uri xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">https://RENet-Loco.github.io/</uri>