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Main Authors: de Matteis, Ludovic, Batto, Virgile, Carpentier, Justin, Mansard, Nicolas
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.00642
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author de Matteis, Ludovic
Batto, Virgile
Carpentier, Justin
Mansard, Nicolas
author_facet de Matteis, Ludovic
Batto, Virgile
Carpentier, Justin
Mansard, Nicolas
contents Legged robots with closed-loop kinematic chains are increasingly prevalent due to their increased mobility and efficiency. Yet, most motion generation methods rely on serial-chain approximations, sidestepping their specific constraints and dynamics. This leads to suboptimal motions and limits the adaptability of these methods to diverse kinematic structures. We propose a comprehensive motion generation method that explicitly incorporates closed-loop kinematics and their associated constraints in an optimal control problem, integrating kinematic closure conditions and their analytical derivatives. This allows the solver to leverage the non-linear transmission effects inherent to closed-chain mechanisms, reducing peak actuator efforts and expanding their effective operating range. Unlike previous methods, our framework does not require serial approximations, enabling more accurate and efficient motion strategies. We also are able to generate the motion of more complex robots for which an approximate serial chain does not exist. We validate our approach through simulations and experiments, demonstrating superior performance in complex tasks such as rapid locomotion and stair negotiation. This method enhances the capabilities of current closed-loop robots and broadens the design space for future kinematic architectures.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_00642
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Optimal Control of Walkers with Parallel Actuation
de Matteis, Ludovic
Batto, Virgile
Carpentier, Justin
Mansard, Nicolas
Robotics
Legged robots with closed-loop kinematic chains are increasingly prevalent due to their increased mobility and efficiency. Yet, most motion generation methods rely on serial-chain approximations, sidestepping their specific constraints and dynamics. This leads to suboptimal motions and limits the adaptability of these methods to diverse kinematic structures. We propose a comprehensive motion generation method that explicitly incorporates closed-loop kinematics and their associated constraints in an optimal control problem, integrating kinematic closure conditions and their analytical derivatives. This allows the solver to leverage the non-linear transmission effects inherent to closed-chain mechanisms, reducing peak actuator efforts and expanding their effective operating range. Unlike previous methods, our framework does not require serial approximations, enabling more accurate and efficient motion strategies. We also are able to generate the motion of more complex robots for which an approximate serial chain does not exist. We validate our approach through simulations and experiments, demonstrating superior performance in complex tasks such as rapid locomotion and stair negotiation. This method enhances the capabilities of current closed-loop robots and broadens the design space for future kinematic architectures.
title Optimal Control of Walkers with Parallel Actuation
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.00642