Observer-Based Feedback Controllers for Exponential Stabilization of Hybrid Periodic Orbits: Application to Underactuated Bipedal Walking

This paper presents a systematic approach to design observer-based output feedback controllers for hybrid dynamical systems arising from bipedal walking. We consider a class of parameterized observer-based output feedback controllers for local exponential stabilization of hybrid periodic orbits. The properties of the Poincaré map are investigated to show that the Jacobian linearization of the Poincaré map takes a triangular form. This demonstrates the nonlinear separation principle for periodic orbits. In particular, the exponential stabilization of hybrid periodic orbits under dynamic output feedback control can be achieved by solving separate eigenvalue placement problems for the nonlinear state feedback and the observer. The paper then solves the state feedback and observer design problems by employing an iterative algorithm based on a sequence of optimization problems involving bilinear and linear matrix inequalities. The theoretical results are confirmed by designing a nonlinear observer-based output feedback controller for underactuated walking of a 3D humanoid model with 18 state variables, 54 state feedback parameters, and 271 observer parameters.