One-Step Ahead Prediction of Angular Momentum about the Contact Point for Control of Bipedal Locomotion: Validation in a LIP-inspired Controller

Ultimately, feedback control is about making adjustments using current state information in order to meet an objective in the future. In the control of bipedal locomotion, linear velocity of the center of mass has been widely accepted as the primary variable around which feedback control objectives are formulated. In this paper, we argue that it is easier to predict the one-step ahead evolution of angular momentum about the contact point than it is to make a similar prediction for linear velocity, and hence it provides a superior quantity for feedback control. So as not to confuse the benefits of predicting angular momentum with any other control design decisions, we reformulate the standard LIP model in terms of angular momentum and show how to regulate swing foot touchdown position at the end of the current step so as to meet an angular momentum objective at the end of the next step. We implement the resulting feedback controller on the 20 degree-of-freedom bipedal robot, Cassie Blue, where each leg accounts for nearly one-third of the robot’s total mass of 32 Kg. Under this controller, the robot achieves fast walking, rapid turning while walking, large disturbance rejection, and locomotion on rough terrain.