Perceptive Variable-Timing Footstep Planning for Humanoid Locomotion on Disconnected Footholds

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2603.07400v1
• Date: Sun, 08 Mar 2026 01:04:30 GMT
• Title: Perceptive Variable-Timing Footstep Planning for Humanoid Locomotion on Disconnected Footholds
• Abstract summary: We propose an onboard, perceptive mixed-integer model predictive control framework that jointly plans foot placement and step duration.<n>We evaluate the approach in simulation on Digit on randomized stepping-stone fields, including external pushes.
• Score: 2.963101656293054
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: Many real-world walking scenarios contain obstacles and unsafe ground patches (e.g., slippery or cluttered areas), leaving a disconnected set of admissible footholds that can be modeled as stepping-stone-like regions. We propose an onboard, perceptive mixed-integer model predictive control framework that jointly plans foot placement and step duration using step-to-step Divergent Component of Motion (DCM) dynamics. Ego-centric depth images are fused into a probabilistic local heightmap, from which we extract a union of convex steppable regions. Region membership is enforced with binary variables in a mixed-integer quadratic program (MIQP). To keep the optimization tractable while certifying safety, we embed capturability bounds in the DCM space: a lateral one-step condition (preventing leg crossing) and a sagittal infinite-step bound that limits unstable growth. We further re-plan within the step by back-propagating the measured instantaneous DCM to update the initial DCM, improving robustness to model mismatch and external disturbances. We evaluate the approach in simulation on Digit on randomized stepping-stone fields, including external pushes. The planner generates terrain-aware, dynamically consistent footstep sequences with adaptive timing and millisecond-level solve times.

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