Adaptive Force-Based Control of Dynamic Legged Locomotion over Uneven Terrain

TL;DR

This paper introduces an adaptive force-based control method for legged robots, enabling dynamic locomotion over uneven terrain while carrying heavy loads, validated on a quadruped robot with promising results.

Contribution

It presents a novel adaptive control integration into force-based systems, enhancing robustness against model uncertainties and terrain variations in legged locomotion.

Findings

Robot can carry up to 50% of its weight while trotting and bounding.

Adaptive control improves stability over uneven terrain.

Experimental validation on Unitree A1 confirms effectiveness.

Abstract

Agile-legged robots have proven to be highly effective in navigating and performing tasks in complex and challenging environments, including disaster zones and industrial settings. However, these applications normally require the capability of carrying heavy loads while maintaining dynamic motion. Therefore, this paper presents a novel methodology for incorporating adaptive control into a force-based control system. Recent advancements in the control of quadruped robots show that force control can effectively realize dynamic locomotion over rough terrain. By integrating adaptive control into the force-based controller, our proposed approach can maintain the advantages of the baseline framework while adapting to significant model uncertainties and unknown terrain impact models. Experimental validation was successfully conducted on the Unitree A1 robot. With our approach, the robot can carry heavy loads (up to 50% of its weight) while performing dynamic gaits such as fast trotting and bounding across uneven terrains.