Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 November 2019
This paper focuses on robust control of a simplest passive model, which is established on a DCLF (discrete control Lyapunov function) -based control system, and presents gait transition method based on the study of purely passive walker. Firstly, the DCLF is introduced to stabilize walking process between steps exponentially by modulating the length of next step. Next, the swing leg trajectory from mid-stance position to foot-strike can be planned. Then the control law is calculated to resist external disturbance. Besides, an impulse is added just before foot-strike to realize a periodic walking pattern on flat or uphill ground. With walking terrain varying, the robot can transit to an adaptive walking gait in a few steps. With different push or pull disturbances acting on hip joint and the robot gait transiting on a continuously slope-changing downhill, the effectiveness of the presented DCLF-based method is verified using simulation experiments. The ability to walk on a changing environment is also presented by simulation results. The insights of this paper can help to develop a robust control method and adaptive walking of dynamic passive locomotion robots.