Feedforward and feedback dynamic trot gait control for a quadruped walking vehicle

We propose a new trajectory planning for the stable trot gait, named 3D sway compensation trajectory, and show that this trajectory has lower energy consumption than the conventional sway trajectory proposed previously by Yoneda et al. (1995). As the adaptive attitude control method was used during the 2-leg supporting phase of the trot gait, we consider four methods: 1) rotation of body along the diagonal line between supporting feet; 2) translation of body along the perpendicular line between supporting feet; 3) vertical swing motion of recovering legs; and 4) horizontal swing motion of recovering legs. The stabilization efficiency of each method was verified through computer simulation and the damping experiment using a quadruped walking robot, TITAN-VIII. Furthermore, the dynamic trot gait control that combines the feedforward control based on the proposed 3D sway compensation trajectory and the adaptive feedback control using body translation and vertical motion of swing legs was developed, and the walking experiment on rough terrain using TITAN-VIII was carried out.