Tracking the walking gait of a novel quadruped robot with soft actuators using model predictive control

Tracking the walking gait of a novel quadruped robot with soft actuators using model predictive control | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Tracking the walking gait of a novel quadruped robot with soft actuators using model predictive control Meng Hongjun, Wang Lin, Du Wenjie, Wu Zebo This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9045557/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Quadruped robots are used in various scenarios, but their rigid structure limits their applications. In contrast, soft structures offer greater flexibility, adaptability, and lower costs but struggle with motion modeling and control stability. This paper proposes a novel design of a quadruped robot that uses soft actuators driven by tendons for joint movement. Firstly, kinematic principles are applied to model single-leg movements; subsequently, a data-driven approach is proposed to model the soft actuator by integrating the control principle with the single-leg structure. Furthermore, a system identification-based approach is proposed for parameter estimation. Ultimately, the model predictive control method is effectively employed to track the predefined gait during locomotion. Experimental results demonstrate that the robot designed can walk smoothly and follow the preset gait accurately. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 10 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 28 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 30 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 27 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 25 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 05 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9045557","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":614631855,"identity":"79395a97-3ec1-4a28-af01-d0a360accc18","order_by":0,"name":"Meng Hongjun","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAyElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJACZgYeGwiLhwQtaSRrYThMghbd9t7Drwtkztsb3EhgfPC2jUHenJAWszPn0qxn8NxOnDkjgdlwbhuD4c4GQlpu5JgZ8/DcTuCXSGCT5m1jSDA4QEjL/TcgLefs2SQS2H8Tp+UGj/FjHp4DjP1AW5iJ03Imx4yZhyc5cWbPw2bJOeckDDcQ1HL8jPFn3h47e4PjyQc/vCmzkSdoCxCwSTD2gGjGBiAhQVg9EDB/YPhBlMJRMApGwSgYqQAAvbg6zNcA5q0AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Shanxi University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Meng","middleName":"","lastName":"Hongjun","suffix":""},{"id":614631856,"identity":"d4227e76-3786-4b41-adc7-c43a776d9018","order_by":1,"name":"Wang Lin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanxi University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wang","middleName":"","lastName":"Lin","suffix":""},{"id":614631858,"identity":"09625a50-0a6c-418a-bf22-273662b1be63","order_by":2,"name":"Du Wenjie","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanxi University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Du","middleName":"","lastName":"Wenjie","suffix":""},{"id":614631859,"identity":"01368cc3-291b-4294-adf9-4e8775c709e2","order_by":3,"name":"Wu Zebo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanxi University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wu","middleName":"","lastName":"Zebo","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-06 03:23:58","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9045557/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9045557/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105923441,"identity":"80abcd42-aa02-4883-ac52-fc564f89834e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-01 12:58:43","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":526227,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"2Trackingthewalkinggaitofanovelquadrupedrobotwithsoftactuatorsusingmodelpredictivecontrol1.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9045557/v1_covered_ccb342b1-b96d-40de-9a83-4d1b4e1ada3b.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Tracking the walking gait of a novel quadruped robot with soft actuators using model predictive control","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"journal-of-intelligent-and-robotic-systems","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Journal of Intelligent \u0026 Robotic Systems](https://link.springer.com/journal/10846)","snPcode":"10846","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/10846/3","title":"Journal of Intelligent \u0026 Robotic Systems","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Open","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9045557/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9045557/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eQuadruped robots are used in various scenarios, but their rigid structure limits their applications. 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