Locomotion control of biped robots with serially-linked parallel legs

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a new parallel mechanism for the legs of biped robots and the control of the robot's locomotion. A leg consists of two 3-DOF parallel platforms linked serially: one is an orientation platform for a thigh and the other is the 3-DOF asymmetric parallel platform for the shank. The desired locomotion trajectory is generated on the basis of the Gravity-Compensated Inverted Pendulum Mode (GCIPM) in the sagittal direction and the Linear Inverted Pendulum Mode (LIPM) in the lateral direction, respectively. In order to simulate the ground reaction force, a 6-DOF elastic pad model is used underneath each of the soles. The performance and effectiveness of the proposed parallel mechanism and locomotion control are shown by the results of computer simulations of a 12-DOF parallel biped robot using SimMechanics®.