Statically stable walking robot : Gait pattern generation for a quadruped using PID control

Abstract: This report is a bachelor thesis in Mechatronics at KTH. The purpose of the thesis is to design a statically stable walking robot capable of forward movement. A quadrupedal robot is designed, as well as a PID control system. To easily control the legs with sufficient accuracy servo motors are used. The control system is used to generate an effective gait pattern that gives rise to the desired functionality. To achieve this the center of mass needs to be approximated, which is done through force sensitive resistors in its feet. The control systems and mathematical models used are tested with the help of a simulation in Simulink. A prototype is also built in order to test the models in practice. The results show that the robot is capable of upholding balance in the simulations, even with shifts in parameters such as the weight and the location of the center of mass. The prototype performed significantly worse, which is mainly accredited to the lack of quality among the force sensors. In future projects the use of different methods to approximate the location of the center of mass is recommended. If the use of sensors is preferred, strain gauges could be a viable alternative to the force sensitive resistors used. More expensive force sensitive resistors of a higher quality could also be an option.