Trajectory control of a bipedal walking robot with inertial disc

Abstract In this paper we exploit some interesting properties of a class of 2D bipedal robots which have an inertial disc. One of this properties is the ability to control every position and speed except for the disc position. The proposed control is designed in two hierarchic levels. The first will drive the robot geometry, while the second will control the speed and also the angular momentum. The exponential stability of this approach is proved around some neighborhood of the nominal trajectory defining the geometry of the step. The disc position is unimportant ant it is not governed by the proposed control law. The geometry of the walking gait is effectively controlled, but the synchronization of the walking gait with time is much less important The proposed control only takes action to correct the essential aspects of the walking gait. Computational simulations are presented for different conditions, serving as an empirical test for the neighborhood of attraction.