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The center of pressure summarizes where a distributed normal pressure acts. On a planar contact region $A$ in $z=0$, take a nonnegative pressure field $p(x,y)$ and positive total normal force $N$. Its center of pressure is the pressure-weighted positionIt is a continuous weighted mean, rather than necessarily the point of largest pressure. For discrete normal forces $N_i\ge 0$ at $(x_i,y_i)$, replace the integrals by sums. The resulting convex combination places the center of pressure inside the contacts' convex hull, or support polygon.^[ref]

This definition preserves the torque as well as the resultant normal force. About the origin in the contact plane,A single vertical force $(0,0,N)$ applied at $(x_P,y_P,0)$ gives the same torque. Thus its line of action passes through the center of pressure. Conversely, force-and-torque measurements reconstruct the point throughThe origin and sign convention are part of these equations; moving the moment reference above the contact plane requires the corresponding torque translation.

For an original discrete example, four vertical reactions of $100$, $200$, $300$ and $200\mathrm{N}$ act at the successive corners $(0,0)$, $(0.40,0)$, $(0.40,0.30)$ and $(0,0.30)$ in metres. Their total normal force is $800\mathrm{N}$, with $M_x=150\mathrm{N}\mathrm{m}$ and $M_y=-200\mathrm{N}\mathrm{m}$. Hence the center of pressure is $(0.250,0.1875)\mathrm{m}$. A rigid plate on four load cells provides a simple force platform implementation: calibrate the force channels and positions, then test known vertical loads at known locations. Subtracting the unloaded plate's own force and moment removes its contribution when reconstructing the added load. This is a proposed measurement test, not experimental data.

A continuous example shows the inverse problem hidden by this useful compression. On a rectangle of length $L$ and width $B$, put $u=x/L$ and choose profiles independent of $y$:Both profiles are positive on $0\le u\le 1$. The added polynomial has zero integral and zero first weighted integral:Thus both profiles give $N=p_{0}LB$ and the same center of pressure $(0.60L,B/2)$, while their peak pressures are $1.6p_0$ and $1.9p_0$. These are pressure distributions with identical resultant force and center of pressure. For $L=0.40\mathrm{m}$, $B=0.30\mathrm{m}$ and $N=800\mathrm{N}$, both give $(0.240,0.150)\mathrm{m}$ despite different local loads. A force platform alone therefore does not identify every local pressure.

Two limits matter. If $N=0$, the normal-pressure center of pressure is undefined. At fixed $N$, an absolute moment error $\delta M_y$ changes the reconstructed $x_P$ by $-\delta M_y/N$, so fixed absolute measurement uncertainty is amplified as a contact unloads. Also, tangential contact forces can leave a residual contact torque at the center of pressure: with full resultant $\mathbf{F}$,Selecting the normal-pressure centroid does not force this yaw torque to vanish.

Under the gravity-only, resting assumptions of support polygon, the center of pressure coincides with the horizontal center of mass projection. During motion it need not. For a planar model driven only by gravity and ground contact forces, at fixed center of mass height $h$ and with constant angular momentum about that centre, force and torque balance give $x_P=x_{\mathrm{CM}}-(h/g){\ddot{x}}_{\mathrm{CM}}$. The acceleration term explains why the center of pressure is a contact-force measurement rather than a general substitute for center of mass position.^[ref]

In terrestrial robot locomotion, the center of pressure is the ground point summarizing the normal load shared by the active contacts. With contact positions $(x_i,y_i)$ and nonnegative normal reactions $N_i$, its coordinates are the weighted averages $x_P={\sum }_i{N}_i{x}_i/{\sum }_i{N}_i$ and $y_P={\sum }_i{N}_i{y}_i/{\sum }_i{N}_i$, provided the total normal force is positive. It lies in the current support polygon, but is a contact-force quantity rather than the robot's center of mass position.^[ref]

Force-sensor coordinates matter when reconstructing this point. Suppose a sensor origin lies height $h$ above a horizontal contact plane, with parallel coordinate axes. If it reports force $(F_x,F_y,F_z)$ and moment $(M_x,M_y,M_z)$, the plane point is located at $(x_P,y_P,-h)$ relative to that origin. Moment translation givesThe ground-plane transformation of a measured contact wrench must therefore precede interpreting moment/force ratios as a contact location.

For an original sensor example, take $h=0.05\mathrm{m}$, force $(30,-20,600)\mathrm{N}$, and measured roll/pitch moments $(17,-49.5)\mathrm{N}\mathrm{m}$. The reconstructed point is $(0.080,0.030)\mathrm{m}$. Ignoring the origin height would instead give $(0.0825,0.02833)\mathrm{m}$. Those millimetre differences are coordinate effects, not a change in the physical pressure distribution.

During motion, the contact point need not equal the horizontal projection of the center of mass. The source's constant-height, negligible-angular-momentum-rate model relates their difference to horizontal acceleration; those assumptions must be established before using that simplified relation.^[ref] A robot-foot experiment can compare known applied loads with the sensor's translated force/moment measurements. When $F_z$ approaches zero, reconstruction becomes sensitive to moment error; at zero normal load the normal-pressure point is undefined. A residual yaw couple may remain, as explained in residual contact torque at the center of pressure.

A directional tipping margin is the distance an interior projection of the center of mass can move along one specified direction before reaching a boundary of its support polygon. It differs from the nearest-edge static tipping margin, which protects against movement in every horizontal direction. For a bounded polygon $P=\{x:a_i\cdot x\le b_i\}$, interior point $c$, and unit direction $u$, the ray $c+su$ stays inside exactly while all edge inequalities hold. HenceEdges with nonpositive denominator do not limit positive motion along that ray. The underlying gravity-only feasibility criterion is the nonnegative-reaction convex-hull condition in support polygon.^[ref]

For an original triangular footprint, take $x\ge 0$, $y\ge 0$, $x+y\le 1$ in metres and $c=(0.20,0.30)\mathrm{m}$. Moving right gives $s_{\max }=0.50\mathrm{m}$; moving downward gives $0.30\mathrm{m}$; moving along $u=(1,1)/\sqrt{2}$ gives $0.50/\sqrt{2}\approx 0.3536\mathrm{m}$. The all-direction margin is only $0.20\mathrm{m}$, set by the left edge. A displacement allowance restricted to the right can therefore be larger than the isotropic allowance without contradiction.

The same geometry can enter a planar load calculation. A horizontal force $Fu$ applied at height $h$ shifts the effective support-resultant point by $(Fh/mg)u$ under the corresponding static torque balance. The directional threshold is $F_{\mathrm{tip}}=mg{s}_{\max }/h$, subject also to friction and the other contact assumptions. With $m=10\mathrm{kg}$ and $h=0.50\mathrm{m}$, the rightward example gives $98.1\mathrm{N}$, whereas the nearest-edge worst-direction value is $39.24\mathrm{N}$.

A measured pull direction and contact layout are therefore part of the specification. Changes in contact set, applied couples, or slipping require the fuller analysis in tipping of a rigid body; this geometric directional reserve alone is not a dynamical stability certificate.

A gait is a pattern of coordinated limb motion and contact used in locomotion. In a periodic gait, the order of foot contacts, their relative timing and the duration of each contact characterize a cycle. A quadrupedal robot can change gait without changing the number of legs or their basic mechanical arrangement.

For a repeated foot motion with period $T$, the stance phase is the interval during which that foot contacts the ground; the swing phase moves it between contacts. If stance lasts $T_s$, its contact duty cycle is $\beta =T_s/T$. Relative phase specifies how one leg's cycle is shifted from another's. Equal duty cycles do not determine a unique gait because those phase shifts can differ.

For an original four-leg schedule, take front-left, front-right, hind-left and hind-right phases $(0,1/2,3/4,1/4)$ with $\beta =3/4$. Apart from transition instants, three feet contact the floor. A second constructed schedule takes phases $(0,1/2,1/2,0)$ and $\beta =1/2$: diagonal pairs contact together and alternate every half-cycle, illustrating a trot. The first schedule has total contact-time sum $4\beta T=3T$ per cycle; the second has $2T$. Summing leg contact times does not mean a stride itself lasts three or two periods.

A real dynamic apparatus illustrates why timing must connect to forces. The 2015 MIT Cheetah demonstration adjusted approach strides and motor forces to execute a running jump; its account describes bounding as successive small jumps.^[ref] The numerical schedules above are not measurements from that experiment.

A support polygon is useful for a stipulated static contact model, but a contact schedule alone does not establish static or dynamic feasibility. Friction, joint motion, actuator capability and angular momentum can matter. Measuring foot-contact times alongside body motion and ground reactions tests whether a planned gait is actually realized. Nonperiodic transitions, starts and obstacle maneuvers additionally require more than one fixed repeating cycle.

A quadrupedal robot is a robot with four legs used for support and locomotion. Its gait determines which feet contact the ground and when; having four legs does not imply that all four feet remain planted. Leg geometry, contact sensing and control of forces connect a desired body motion to feasible ground reactions.

An original statics calculation explains one advantage and one limitation of multiple feet. Assume point contacts on a horizontal floor, vertical gravity only, no contact moments and no acceleration. For robot mass $m$ and upward foot forces $F_i\ge 0$, force and moment balance requireHere $(x_c,y_c)$ is the vertical projection of the center of mass. Dividing by $mg$ expresses this point as a convex combination of foot locations. It must lie in their convex hull, the support polygon. A point on its boundary has no positive geometric margin against tipping in the corresponding direction.

For example, feet at $(\pm 0.50,\pm 0.30)\mathrm{m}$ surround a centered mass projection. Remove the front-left contact $(0.50,0.30)\mathrm{m}$: the origin now lies on the diagonal edge of the remaining triangle. The balance equations load the opposite two feet at $mg/2$ each and leave the third unloaded. Merely retaining three contacts has not created a positive margin. Shifting the mass projection to $(-0.10,-0.10)\mathrm{m}$ places it strictly inside that triangle, permitting three positive vertical reactions.

Dynamic running and jumping require a different balance including acceleration and angular momentum. An airborne robot has no ground support polygon at all. In the 2015 MIT Cheetah demonstration, onboard lidar estimated obstacle size and distance; control adjusted the approach strides and planned motor forces for a running jump.^[ref] The apparatus demonstrates coordinated perception and dynamic contact control, rather than a static support rule.

For a controlled walking test, record foot-contact times and body motion while changing one planned contact at a time. The geometric criterion above checks only the stipulated static model. Friction, actuator limits, terrain inclination and motion can make a geometrically supported pose physically infeasible. Conversely, a dynamic maneuver can pass through a pose that could not be maintained at rest.

The stance phase of a robot leg is the portion of a gait during which its foot is in the intended ground contact. It permits force transfer between the robot and its surroundings. Contact can occur with little load, and contact alone does not imply that the foot remains fixed without slipping. The swing phase instead transfers the foot toward another contact.

In an ideal rigid, nonadhesive contact model, let $g$ be the foot's normal gap above the ground and $F_n$ its normal contact force. The conditionsexclude penetration and tensile ground reaction. An open gap requires zero normal reaction; a zero gap permits a compressive reaction but does not require it to be strictly positive. The primary contact model distinguishes these unilateral constraints from the force/torque equations for equilibrium.^[ref]

For an original level-ground example, take a $20\mathrm{kg}$ robot supported by two stance feet, neglecting other external vertical forces. Newton's second law giveswhere $g_0=9.81\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-2}$ is gravitational acceleration and $a_z$ is upward center of mass acceleration. With equal sharing and $a_z=0$, each foot carries $98.1\mathrm{N}$. With $a_z=2\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-2}$, each carries $118.1\mathrm{N}$. Equal sharing is an additional symmetry assumption, not a consequence of knowing there are two contacts.

A simple Coulomb friction model constrains tangential force by $|F_t|\le \mu F_n$. At zero vertical acceleration and $\mu =0.3$, the two feet's combined horizontal-force capacity is at most $0.3m{g}_0=58.86\mathrm{N}$ in this planar model. Accelerating the body horizontally at $4\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-2}$ would require $80\mathrm{N}$ and violate that bound. A stance-time schedule alone cannot remove this force limit. Individual contact geometry and torque balance can impose further constraints even when the combined bound passes.

For a periodic cycle, contact duration $T_s$ gives duty cycle $\beta =T_s/T$. A proposed test records stance timing and forces separately, using calibrated sensors under the contacts together with body-motion measurements. It checks load transfer and slipping as well as touch timing. A support polygon is useful in an explicitly static planar model; dynamic stance additionally requires the changing force and momentum balance.

A static tipping margin is the distance of an interior center of mass projection $c$ from the boundary of a horizontal support polygon $P$. It quantifies the horizontal displacement reserve in the gravity-only rigid-contact model. For a convex polygon written as $P=\{x:a_i\cdot x\le b_i\}$, with nonzero edge normals $a_i$, the margin isThis is the radius of the largest Euclidean ball about $c$ contained in $P$: each normalized edge inequality bounds how far the projection can move toward that edge. The admissible contact-reaction argument is proved in support polygon and in the primary equilibrium model.^[ref]

For an original rectangular footprint, let $P=[-0.30,0.30]\times [-0.20,0.20]$ in metres and $c=(0.10,0.05)\mathrm{m}$. Its four edge distances are $0.20$, $0.40$, $0.15$, and $0.25\mathrm{m}$, so $d=0.15\mathrm{m}$. Any horizontal projection perturbation of norm at most $0.05\mathrm{m}$ leaves a margin of at least $0.10\mathrm{m}$. This follows because each normalized edge gap changes by at most the perturbation norm.

Unsigned distance alone must not classify an exterior point as stable. At $c=(0.40,0.05)\mathrm{m}$, distance to the polygon boundary is still positive, namely $0.10\mathrm{m}$, but gravity-only balance is impossible. The minimum signed edge gap is then negative. For an exterior point, that minimum is a useful feasibility indicator; its magnitude is not generally the Euclidean distance to the polygon, especially beyond a corner.

A directional tipping margin can exceed the nearest-edge margin when the allowed displacement direction is restricted. The scalar $d$ protects against every horizontal direction, so it is the appropriate geometric reserve only for an isotropic displacement bound. It omits center of mass height, static friction, applied moments, and contact compliance. Under a specified horizontal load, tipping of a rigid body instead compares the load's overturning torque with the restoring gravitational torque.

A support polygon is the convex hull of a body's supporting contact positions, projected onto a horizontal plane. For a rigid body resting on that plane in a uniform gravitational field, with gravity as the only applied load besides support reactions, it describes which horizontal center of mass positions can admit static equilibrium. Widely separated feet can support a center of mass above empty space between them: the footprint's convex hull, rather than the material under every point, matters.^[ref]

The geometry follows directly from force and torque balance. Let the contact positions be $(x_i,y_i,0)$ and their upward normal forces be $N_i\ge 0$. The inequality expresses unilateral contact: an ordinary unbonded support can push the body upward but cannot pull it downward. For total mass $m>0$, gravitational acceleration $g>0$ and horizontal center of mass projection $c=(x_c,y_c)$, balance givesDivide by $mg$ and write ${\lambda }_i=N_i/(mg)$. ThenThus $c$ must be a convex combination of the contacts, which is exactly membership in their convex hull. Conversely, any such convex combination supplies nonnegative reactions $N_i=mg{\lambda }_i$ satisfying this model's balance equations. The center of pressure of these vertical contact forces coincides with $c$. This proves existence of allowable reactions; it does not determine every reaction uniquely when there are more contacts than independent balance equations.

For an original three-foot example, take contact positions $(0,0)$, $(1,0)$ and $(0,1)$ in metres. The support polygon is the triangle described by $x\ge 0$, $y\ge 0$, $x+y\le 1$. A $10\mathrm{kg}$ body with $c=(0.30,0.20)\mathrm{m}$ requires the convex combination coefficientsWith $g=9.81m/{\mathrm{s}}^2$, the corresponding normal forces are $49.05$, $29.43$ and $19.62\mathrm{N}$. Moving the projection to $(0.70,0.50)\mathrm{m}$ would require ${\lambda }_1=-0.20$, a downward reaction at the first foot. No set of nonnegative normal forces can hold that configuration at rest under the stated loads.

A simple test uses a rigid plate on three small supports, a movable known mass, and three load cells measuring the upward reactions. Include the plate's own mass and center of mass when calculating the combined projection. As that projection approaches the edge $x+y=1$, the first support's reading approaches zero. Beyond the edge, maintaining the same contact configuration would require the forbidden downward reaction; the observed motion or changed contact set marks the failure of the original static equilibrium. This is a proposed apparatus test of the balance equations, not reported experimental data.

The distance from an interior projection to the polygon's nearest edge is a static tipping margin; here it is $\min (0.30,0.20,0.50/\sqrt{2})=0.20\mathrm{m}$. A boundary projection has zero margin: some supports unload, and an arbitrarily small outward shift can make balance impossible. A strictly interior projection gives a positive geometric margin against small horizontal shifts under the same model. It is not a general certificate of dynamical stability for a flexible or articulated system.

This explains a constraint in a quadrupedal robot's gait. Four feet at the corners of a square give a square support polygon. Lifting the corner $(1,1)$ leaves the triangle $x\ge 0$, $y\ge 0$, $x+y\le 1$. A center of mass projection at $(0.60,0.60)$ was inside the square but is outside that triangle, so the body must shift or use dynamics to lift that foot without losing the assumed balance. The contact set must be updated when computing the support polygon.

The assumptions matter when applying the test. Nonhorizontal contacts require the full balance equations and admissible contact forces, including Coulomb friction; a projected hull alone need not decide feasibility on irregular terrain.^[ref] Additional horizontal loads also change the balance problem. For example, a horizontal force $F$ applied at center of mass height $h$ produces an overturning torque $Fh$ about the relevant edge. If the inward horizontal distance to that edge is $d$, incipient tipping of a rigid body satisfies $Fh=mgd$. Whether the body slides first depends on static friction. The gravity-only support polygon contains no information about $h$ or that additional load.

Tipping of a rigid body begins when a supported configuration can no longer balance its applied forces and torques with admissible contact forces, and rotation about a support edge becomes possible. For gravity alone on a horizontal surface, the center of mass projection must lie in the support polygon. A boundary projection marks incipient unloading of contacts; it is not a general guarantee about subsequent dynamics. The unilateral-contact and force/torque conditions are explicit in the primary robotics treatment.^[ref]

A planar horizontal pull gives a useful distinction between tipping and sliding. Let the gravitational weight be $mg$, the inward distance of the center of mass projection from the candidate tipping edge be $d>0$, and the pull's application height be $h>0$. Taking torque about that edge gives the limiting balanceThe contact forces elsewhere on the base then unload. With coefficient of static friction $\mu$, the horizontal sliding limit in this same model is $F_{\mathrm{slide}}=\mu mg$. Tipping can occur first only if $d/h<\mu$; the geometric support polygon by itself does not decide this competition.

For an original example, choose $m=20\mathrm{kg}$, $d=0.15\mathrm{m}$, $h=0.60\mathrm{m}$, and $g=9.81\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-2}$. The tipping threshold is $49.05\mathrm{N}$. With $\mu =0.40$, sliding would require $78.48\mathrm{N}$, so tipping is the first predicted loss of this planar static configuration. With $\mu =0.15$, sliding starts at $29.43\mathrm{N}$ instead. Equal thresholds require a coupled contact analysis rather than a strict choice between the two labels.

A bench comparison can use a rigid box, a horizontal force gauge at a known height, and a slow force increase while observing the first loss of full-base contact or translation. Include the box's actual combined center of mass, not just its visible geometric centre. The static tipping margin measures the gravity-only geometric reserve; a pull, anchoring, changing contact set, or nonhorizontal ground changes the governing balance problem. The full friction constraints must then be retained.^[ref]

A trot in a quadrupedal robot coordinates diagonal leg pairs: front-left with hind-right, and front-right with hind-left. The two pairs alternate their stance phases and swing phases. The pairing and relative timing define the pattern; the fraction of each cycle spent in contact can vary.

For an original periodic model, take cycle period $T$ and normalized cycle phase $u=t/T(\mathrm{mod}1)$. Let the front-left/hind-right pair have phase zero and the other pair have phase $1/2$. Each foot remains in stance phase for fraction $\beta$ of the cycle. At $\beta =1/2$, one diagonal pair contacts while the other swings, apart from the idealized transition instants.

The contact-time consequences follow directly. For $\beta <1/2$, the diagonal-pair contacts do not overlap, and the fraction of the cycle with no foot contact isFor $\beta >1/2$, the intervals overlap, and the fraction with all four feet in contact is $2\beta -1$. Thus $\beta =0.4$ gives 20% no-contact time, while $\beta =0.6$ gives 20% four-foot overlap. The average number of contacting feet is $4\beta$ in either case, but an average does not describe the instantaneous support.

For stipulated $T=0.5\mathrm{s}$ and $\beta =0.6$, each foot's stance lasts $0.3\mathrm{s}$ and swing lasts $0.2\mathrm{s}$. Each pair overlaps the other for $0.05\mathrm{s}$ at each exchange, totaling $0.1\mathrm{s}$ per cycle. These are constructed timings, not measurements of a particular machine.

Two ideal diagonal point contacts have a support polygon reduced to a line segment. Static balance would require the projected center of mass to lie on that segment under the usual horizontal-plane assumptions, leaving no area margin to lateral disturbance. Dynamic motion additionally involves contact forces, angular momentum, friction and actuator limits. The contact and equilibrium models in the primary robotics text explain why a geometric schedule alone is insufficient.^[ref]

A proposed robot trial records all foot-contact events, body motion and ground contact forces while commanding the diagonal pattern. It checks whether the planned duty fraction and phase offsets are realized and whether motion remains feasible. Contact timing identifies the gait; the force and motion records test its execution.