ZMP Tracking Control of an Android Robot Leg on Slope-Changing Ground Using Disturbance Observer and Dual Plant Models

This paper describes a novel zero moment point (ZMP) tracking control strategy using a disturbance observer (DOB) in the presence of ground slope change for balance control of an android robot. With regard to conventional ZMP controls, many researchers have studied ZMP tracking control strategies using an inverted pendulum model on flat level ground, and they have solved a slow response problem of nonminimum phase systems by using suitable feedforward motions called walking patterns. However, the conventional methods lead to ZMP offset errors in the presence of ground slope change; it is hence necessary to quickly eliminate the ZMP offset errors to realize robust balance control. In this paper, we rapidly eliminate the ZMP offset errors through a DOB using a model inversion for robust balance control in the presence of ground slope change. In particular, a dynamic model that uses the projected center of mass (CoM) position on the ground is additionally used as an output to solve a problem that generates an unstable pole during model inversion. Finally, the proposed control strategy is verified through MATLAB simulations and experiments using a real android leg.