Use of a novel multipart controller for the parametric study of a trotting quadruped robot

In this paper a novel multipart control is developed for a trotting quadruped robot. The control is designed to drive the quadruped to a steady-state motion with desired forward speed and apex height, using only one actuator per leg. The body pitching motion is controlled to be small. The controller is applied to the robot and the complete system is used to develop a parametric study for the robot. The study examines the behavior of the actuator effort and the leg touchdown angles, over a parametric region of both the robot physical parameters and the gait parameters. Interesting results appear, not previously reported, that may contribute to enhanced robot design and better gait selection for a given robot. Typical findings are that a robot should be lighter- weight when running on more slippery terrain, as well as that certain higher forward speeds require less actuator effort than other slower speeds.