Safe Whole-Body Loco-Manipulation via Combined Model and Learning-based Control

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Schperberg, Alexander, Wang, Yeping, Di Cairano, Stefano
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Schperberg, Alexander
Wang, Yeping
Di Cairano, Stefano
author_facet Schperberg, Alexander
Wang, Yeping
Di Cairano, Stefano
contents Simultaneous locomotion and manipulation enables robots to interact with their environment beyond the constraints of a fixed base. However, coordinating legged locomotion with arm manipulation, while considering safety and compliance during contact interaction remains challenging. To this end, we propose a whole-body controller that combines a model-based admittance control for the manipulator arm with a Reinforcement Learning (RL) policy for legged locomotion. The admittance controller maps external wrenches--such as those applied by a human during physical interaction--into desired end-effector velocities, allowing for compliant behavior. The velocities are tracked jointly by the arm and leg controllers, enabling a unified 6-DoF force response. The model-based design permits accurate force control and safety guarantees via a Reference Governor (RG), while robustness is further improved by a Kalman filter enhanced with neural networks for reliable base velocity estimation. We validate our approach in both simulation and hardware using the Unitree Go2 quadruped robot with a 6-DoF arm and wrist-mounted 6-DoF Force/Torque sensor. Results demonstrate accurate tracking of interaction-driven velocities, compliant behavior, and safe, reliable performance in dynamic settings.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_02443
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Safe Whole-Body Loco-Manipulation via Combined Model and Learning-based Control
Schperberg, Alexander
Wang, Yeping
Di Cairano, Stefano
Robotics
Human-Computer Interaction
Systems and Control
Simultaneous locomotion and manipulation enables robots to interact with their environment beyond the constraints of a fixed base. However, coordinating legged locomotion with arm manipulation, while considering safety and compliance during contact interaction remains challenging. To this end, we propose a whole-body controller that combines a model-based admittance control for the manipulator arm with a Reinforcement Learning (RL) policy for legged locomotion. The admittance controller maps external wrenches--such as those applied by a human during physical interaction--into desired end-effector velocities, allowing for compliant behavior. The velocities are tracked jointly by the arm and leg controllers, enabling a unified 6-DoF force response. The model-based design permits accurate force control and safety guarantees via a Reference Governor (RG), while robustness is further improved by a Kalman filter enhanced with neural networks for reliable base velocity estimation. We validate our approach in both simulation and hardware using the Unitree Go2 quadruped robot with a 6-DoF arm and wrist-mounted 6-DoF Force/Torque sensor. Results demonstrate accurate tracking of interaction-driven velocities, compliant behavior, and safe, reliable performance in dynamic settings.
title Safe Whole-Body Loco-Manipulation via Combined Model and Learning-based Control
topic Robotics
Human-Computer Interaction
Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.02443