Stable handspring maneuvers with passive flight phases: Results from an inverted pendulum-like template

Inverted pendulum (IP) has been broadly used to model locomotor systems. In this paper, we demonstrate that an IP-like model could simulate stable periodic handspring maneuvers with passive flight phases. The model is a 2-D symmetric rigid body which is merely controlled during the contact phase. To benefit from an open-loop sensorless strategy, the control policy is implemented only by an unvaried torque input. The system’s dynamics is an example of nonlinear impulsive systems studied and analyzed by the Poincaré section method. The numerical results reveal that the stable periodic solutions are sufficiently robust for a broad range of the parameter space.