Disturbance Rejection for Biped Walking Using Zero-Moment Point Variation Based on Body Acceleration

For real-world applications, a biped robot should maintain stable walking when subjected to sudden external disturbances. Typically, unexpected changes to body acceleration indicate that a robot is experiencing an external disturbance. This paper presents a biped walking controller for rapid response to large external disturbances. First, a novel adjustment algorithm for foot placement is proposed. Here, zero-moment point variations are mapped onto the new foothold based on calculations from changes in body acceleration. Second, a novel impact reduction control for foot landing is presented based on abating body vibrations. To avoid false detection triggers and excessive foothold adjustment, a rapid disturbance detection method is established using the body acceleration derivative. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed methods is validated under simulations and in experiments with an actual biped robot.