A Simple Momentum Controller for Humanoid Push Recovery

While working in a dynamic environment, humanoid robots are subject to unknown forces and disturbances, putting them at risk of falling down and damaging themselves. One mechanism by which humans avoid falling under similar conditions is the human momentum reflex. Although such systems have been devised, the processing requirements are too high to be implemented on small humanoids having microcontroller processing capabilities. This paper presents a simplified momentum controller for fall avoidence. The system is tested on a simulated robot developed under Gazebo as well as under a real humanoid. Results show successful fall avoidance.