Control of a biped robot with flexible foot on an uneven terrain

Abstract

A technique to achieve stable walking of a biped robot on an uneven terrain is proposed in this paper. A biped structure with a flexible foot will be able to navigate uneven terrain more effectively than the same with a flat foot. The criterion used for stable walking is Zero moment point (ZMP). The geometric center of the support polygon formed by the flexible foot is taken for dynamically planning the reference trajectory at every step. A control law is derived using computed torque control and its validity is checked using simulation study. It is observed that the actual trajectory closely follows reference with the proposed control law.