Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, Inc.

Twan Koolen

Jerry E Pratt

John Rebula

A control system for a bipedal humanoid robot that utilizes certain fundamental characteristics of bipedal motion to provide a robust and relatively simple balancing and walking mechanism. The system primarily utilizes the concept of 'capturability,' which is defined as the ability of the robot to come to a stop without falling by taking N or fewer steps. This ability is considered crucial to legged locomotion and is a useful, yet not overly restrictive criterion for stability. In the preferred embodiment, the bipedal robot is maintained in a 1-step capturable state. This means that future step-locating and driving decisions are made so that the robot may always be brought to a balanced halt with the taking of one step. Other embodiments maintain the bipedal robot in an N-step capturable state, in which the robot may always be brought to a balanced halt by taking N or fewer steps.

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Pensacola, FL, United States of America

Twan Koolen