ZiMPedance: Impedance-Aware ZMP Modeling and Control for Payload Carrying with Quadruped Robots

Abstract: Load transportation with quadruped robots is strongly affected by the dynamics of the physical interface between the robot and the load. Passive spring-based arms reduce weight and complexity compared to active manipulators, but their spring-damper dynamics can introduce oscillatory forces that degrade locomotion stability. This paper derives an extended Zero Moment Point (ZMP) formulation that includes passive payload-interface dynamics, relating stiffness, damping, and payload mass to the stability margin. The analysis shows that underdamped configurations can resonate with locomotion harmonics. Based on this insight, we augment a Single Rigid Body Dynamics model with passive subsystem dynamics and integrate it into a Model Predictive Control framework. In simulation, the proposed controller reduces stability violations by up to $10\times$, from $7.0\%$ to $0.7\%$, and increase locomotion efficiency by lowering horizontal ground reaction force effort by up to $15\%$ compared to a nominal baseline. Hardware experiments with a $2\,\mathrm{kg}$ payload show stable locomotion under pull-release disturbances where the nominal controller fails. The same model also enables end-effector tracking through passive arm dynamics without direct arm actuation.