A control approach for a robotic ground walking platform

Abstract

This study presents a control approach for a Ground Walking Platform (GWP). The control approach was developed to be a part of a future lower limb rehabilitation robot that aims to simulate the walking on different terrains (e.g. walking, on plane ground, on stairs, or on a hill). In addition the system aims to simulate for the user not only classic hard ground walking trajectories, but also to simulate different values of stiffens of as well. This may involve walking on solid ground, muddy land, sand and water too. The objective of this paper is to present a dynamic control study of a GWP system allowing us to predict the relationship between the walker's foot and a virtual environment. More specifically, his involves defining the equations describing the relation between the contact forces (foot/platform) and the position of the foot.