Robust balance control of a one-legged, pneumatically-actuated, Acrobot-like hopping robot

We investigate approaches to balance control of an under-actuated robot. The robot is similar in structure to the Acrobot, but it is actuated with a pneumatic cylinder rather than an electric motor, and it is capable of hopping. Regions of attraction of the control system are studied, and two methods are presented that increase the size of this region. One is a different mechanical design, and the other is a more robust control approach based on H/sub /spl infin// methods. The result is a much improved balance controller for a hopping robot.