Deformable Multibody Modeling for Model Predictive Control in Legged Locomotion with Embodied Compliance

2025/04/28 by Keran Ye, Ye, Keran, Konstantinos Karydis +1
Engineering · #Control theory (sociology) #Dynamics and Control of Mechanical Systems #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Gait #Inertia #Model predictive control #Multibody system #Parametric statistics #Prosthetics and Rehabilitation Robotics #Robot #Robotic Locomotion and Control #Robotics (cs.RO) #Robustness (evolution) #Underactuation

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2504.20301

published in arXiv (Cornell University) (Cornell University)

openalex publication_date 2025/04/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

The paper presents a method to stabilize dynamic gait for a legged robot with embodied compliance. Our approach introduces a unified description for rigid and compliant bodies to approximate their deformation and a formulation for deformable multibody systems. We develop the centroidal composite predictive deformed inertia (CCPDI) tensor of a deformable multibody system and show how to integrate it with the standard-of-practice model predictive controller (MPC). Simulation shows that the resultant control framework can stabilize trot stepping on a quadrupedal robot with both rigid and compliant spines under the same MPC configurations. Compared to standard MPC, the developed CCPDI-enabled MPC distributes the ground reactive forces closer to the heuristics for body balance, and it is thus more likely to stabilize the gaits of the compliant robot. A parametric study shows that our method preserves some level of robustness within a suitable envelope of key parameter values.

Citations

• CDM-MPC: An Integrated Dynamic Planning and Control Framework for Bipedal Robots Jumping
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• Evaluation of Legged Robot Landing Capability Under Aggressive Linear and Angular Velocities
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• Modeling and Trajectory Optimization for Standing Long Jumping of a Quadruped with A Preloaded Elastic Prismatic Spine
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• Learning Active Spine Behaviors for Dynamic and Efficient Locomotion in Quadruped Robots
• Feedback MPC for Torque-Controlled Legged Robots
• Robust Recovery Controller for a Quadrupedal Robot using Deep Reinforcement Learning
• Learning agile and dynamic motor skills for legged robots
• Biorobotics: Using robots to emulate and investigate agile locomotion
• A direct method for trajectory optimization of rigid bodies through contact

Related

• Adaptive Non-linear Centroidal MPC with Stability Guarantees for Robust Locomotion of Legged Robots
• Variable Inertia Model Predictive Control for Fast Bipedal Maneuvers
• Dynamic Legged Manipulation of a Ball Through Multi-Contact Optimization
• The Surprising Effectiveness of Linear Models for Whole-Body Model-Predictive Control
• Robust Push Recovery on Bipedal Robots: Leveraging Multi-Domain Hybrid Systems with Reduced-Order Model Predictive Control