KCFRC: Kinematic Collision-Aware Foothold Reachability Criteria for Legged Locomotion

TL;DR

This paper introduces KCFRC, a fast algorithm for real-time foothold reachability validation in legged robots, improving navigation and contact planning in complex environments.

Contribution

The paper presents KCFRC, a novel method that efficiently validates foothold reachability, addressing a key gap in collision-aware contact planning for legged locomotion.

Findings

KCFRC completes reachability checks in about 2 ms for 900 footholds.

KCFRC accelerates trajectory optimization and contact planning.

The method enhances robot adaptability in confined and complex terrains.

Abstract

Legged robots face significant challenges in navigating complex environments, as they require precise real-time decisions for foothold selection and contact planning. While existing research has explored methods to select footholds based on terrain geometry or kinematics, a critical gap remains: few existing methods efficiently validate the existence of a non-collision swing trajectory. This paper addresses this gap by introducing KCFRC, a novel approach for efficient foothold reachability analysis. We first formally define the foothold reachability problem and establish a sufficient condition for foothold reachability. Based on this condition, we develop the KCFRC algorithm, which enables robots to validate foothold reachability in real time. Our experimental results demonstrate that KCFRC achieves remarkable time efficiency, completing foothold reachability checks for a single leg across 900 potential footholds in an average of 2 ms. Furthermore, we show that KCFRC can accelerate trajectory optimization and is particularly beneficial for contact planning in confined spaces, enhancing the adaptability and robustness of legged robots in challenging environments.