Joint space reference trajectory to reduce the energy consumption of a six-legged mobile robot

Energy consumption minimization is an essential issue for the mobile robots directly affecting their autonomy. This is particularly important for legged robots, which are less efficient than wheeled robots, but are more suitable for locomotion across irregular and inclined terrain. In this paper a novel strategy to control the legged mobile robot with reduced energy consumption is presented. It is based on reference trajectory optimization for each joint/actuator. Experimental results show the 23.6% energy consumption reduction compared to the conventional control approach.