Robust Orientation Correction Control for a Falling Quadruped with an Active Spine
Abstract: Active spine quadrupeds offer many advantages over their rigid spine counter parts in terms of speed, efficiency, stability and range of motion. A relatively less explored aspect is their capability to adjust their posture mid-air. This work leverages this ability and presents a real time control strategy to correct the pose a flexible spine robot using a cat like righting reflex. The proposed controller is able to correct and stabilize the orientation of the robot starting from any orientation and a range of initial angular and planar velocities. Additionally, the controller is also tested in the presence of external disturbances and model uncertainties to demonstrate its robustness.
Advisor: Professor Andre Rosendo
Committee: Professor Constantinos Chamzas, Professor Fiona Yuan
Zoom link: https://wpi.zoom.us/j/93282362957