Design of Multi-Legged Locomotion Control System for Reconfigurable Robots Integrating Decoupled Virtual Model Control with BP Neural Network

Modular reconfigurable robots exhibit significant potential in adapting to complex terrains through cooperative multi-robot formations. However, current control systems often struggle to maintain consistent performance when the number of modules varies due to a lack of unified and adaptive control frameworks. Existing Virtual Model Control (VMC) methods, while effective for fixed-configuration legged robots, are limited in their ability to dynamically adjust control parameters in reconfigurable multi-legged systems. To address this gap, this study proposes a parallel multi-legged control system that integrates a Backpropagation Neural Network (BPNN) with a decoupled VMC framework. The BPNN enables adaptive tuning of motion parameters under varying modular configurations, while the decoupled VMC ensures stable gait control under force feedback. Simulation and physical experiments demonstrate that the proposed system achieves a unified control architecture across quadrupedal and multi-legged configurations, with improved tracking accuracy, stability, and adaptability compared to traditional VMC methods.