Motion control for robust landing of acrobat robot (SMB)

The Super Mechano Boy (SMB), a nine-link eight-actuator mechanical system is considered as a model of a gymnast with a horizontal bar. This paper deals with a landing control of SMB as the final motion of a performance of various skillful motions such as swinging from pendant state, forward upward circling, handstand on the horizontal bar, giant swing, flying off, somersault. This motion is very important for the completion of the series of the gymnastics motions with horizontal bar. The proposed control method consists of several control algorithms and the control is switched according to contact conditions. Numerical simulations verify the effectiveness of the proposed control methods.