Quadratic programming for inverse kinematics control of a hexapod robot with inequality constraints

In this paper, we present an inverse kinematics control law to control the motion of a six-legged robot intended for use in humanitarian demining. We exploit a Quadratic programming (QP) method to resolve the constrained kinematic redundancy problem and we include both inequality and equality constraints such as joint rate and joint angle limits. The problem of redundancy resolution is considered at the inverse differential kinematics level. Task prioritization for the hexapod robot with sensor head has been used to address the issue of robot balance, walking and manipulator motion. This work describes the whole-body control framework, based on task prioritization with inequality constrained QP applied at different levels. The algorithm has been tested on a three degrees of freedom leg as part of a six legged robot with sensor head carrier arm. We present a simulation on the robot using MatLab.