J-048

A Friction Constraint Method for the Force Distribution of Quadruped

Authors: Debao Zhou and K.H. Low
Affiliation: Robotics Research Center, School of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Republic of Singapore

Abstract
One of the important issues of walking machine active force control is a successful distribution of the body force to the feet to prevent leg slippage. In this article, a new force distribution method, the Friction Constraint Method (FriCoM), is introduced. The force distribution during the walking of a typical quadruped crawl gait is analyzed by using the FriCoM. Computation results show that the distributed forces of the feet are continuous during the walking. This reflects the change of the force distribution during actual conditions. The comparison with a pseudo-inverse method shows that the FriCoM is more practical. The FriCoM also requires less computation time than that by an incremental optimization method. Some problems, such as the singularity, in the application of the FriCoM are discussed. The FriCoM will be used in the active force control of a quadruped robot that is taken as the platform for the research on the study of terrain adaptation.

Debao Zhou
Robotics Research Center
School of Mechanical and Production
Nanyang Technological University
Singapore 639798
Republic of Singapore
P143795162@ntu.edu.sg