Gait synthesis for a three-link planar biped walker with one actuator

We consider a 3-link planar walker with two legs and an upper body. An actuator is introduced between the legs, and the torso is kept upright by torsional springs. The model is a 3-DOF impulsive mechanical system, and the aim is to induce stable limit-cycle walking in level ground. To solve the problem, the ideas of the virtual holonomic constraints approach are explored, used and extended. The contribution is a novel systematic motion planning procedure for solving the problem of gait synthesis, which is challenging for non-feedback linearizable mechanical systems with two or more passive degrees of freedom. For a preplanned gait we compute an impulsive linear system that approximates dynamics transversal to the periodic solution. This linear system is used for the design of a stabilizing feedback controller. Results of numerical simulations are presented to illustrate the performance of the closed loop system.