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The somersault is a maneuver in which a performer jumps into the air and rotates through 360 degrees before landing on the ground. The somersault is challenging to execute because the performer has limited control over the body while airborne. Despite conservation of momentum con- straints, limited control of such a maneuver during flight is possible. We experiment with the use of an in flight feedback strategy to control the somer- sault landing of a biped robot. In flight, the robot manipulates its rotation rate by tucking its legs to control the landing attitude. Results from somer- sault experiments in the laboratory provide initial verification of the control strategy.
Playter et al. (2005) studied this question.