Chaos control in passive walking dynamics of a compass-gait model

The compass-gait walker is a two-degree-of-freedom biped that can walk passively and steadily down an incline without any actuation. The mathematical model of the walking dynamics is represented by an impulsive hybrid nonlinear model. It is capable of displaying cyclic motions and chaos. In this paper, we propose a new approach to controlling chaos cropped up from the passive dynamic walking of the compass-gait model. The proposed technique is to linearize the nonlinear model around a desired passive hybrid limit cycle. Then, we show that the nonlinear model is transformed to an impulsive hybrid linear model with a controlled jump. Basing on the linearized model, we derive an analytical expression of a constrained controlled Poincaré map. We present a method for the numerical simulation of this constrained map where bifurcation diagrams are plotted. Relying on these diagrams, we show that the linear model is fairly close to the nonlinear one. Using the linearized controlled Poincaré map, we design a state feedback controller in order to stabilize the fixed point of the Poincaré map. We show that this controller is very efficient for the control of chaos for the original nonlinear model.