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Abstract Low-friction foot/ground contacts present a particular challenge for stable bipedal walkers. The slippage of the stance foot introduces complexity in robot dynamics and the general locomotion stability results cannot be applied directly. We relax the commonly used assumption of nonslip contact between the walker foot and the ground and examine bipedal dynamics under foot slip. Using a two-mass linear inverted pendulum model, we introduce the concept of balance recoverability and use it to quantify the balanced or fall-prone walking gaits. Balance recoverability also serves as the basis for the design of the balance recovery controller. We design the within- or multi-step recovery controller to assist the walker to avoid fall. The controller performance is validated through simulation results and robustness is demonstrated in the presence of measurement noises as well as variations of foot/ground friction conditions. In addition, the proposed methods and models are used to analyze the data from human walking experiments. The multiple subject experiments validate and illustrate the balance recoverability concept and analyses. 

This paper presents a simple inverted pendulum gait model, to study walking under slip conditions. The model allows for both the horizontal and vertical movements of the center of mass during normal walking and walking gaits with foot slip. Stability of the system is analyzed using the concept of capturability. Considering foot placement as a control input, we obtain the stable regions which lead to stable gait. The size of those stable regions is used to evaluate the effect of the coefficient of friction and the slip reaction time on capturability. The (in)feasibility of recovery from slip gait is analyzed in relation to the coefficient of friction and the reaction time.