On the Lyapunov stability of quasistatic planar biped robots

Abstract

We investigate the local motion of a planar rigid body with unilateral constraints in the neighborhood of a two-contact frictional equilibrium configuration on a slope. A new sufficient condition of Lyapunov stability is developed in the presence of arbitrary external forces. Additionally, we construct an example, which is stable against perturbations by infinitesimal forces, but does not possess Lyapunov stability against infinitesimal displacements or impulses. The great difference between previous stability criteria and ours leads to further questions about the nature of the exact stability condition.

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