Abstract: quadruped robots have many joints and complex motion modes. Gait planning is the basis of the motion control of the quadruped robot. Traditional algorithms are mostly based on the principle of bionics and lack wide adaptability. Based on the establishment of kinematics equations, this paper proposes a gait planning algorithm based on an improved ant colony algorithm. The algorithm takes advantage of the linear independence of four legs of the robots, and classifies the gait planning problem as a problem of how to plan the longest path in a four-dimension space. After simulation, the algorithm obtains all gaits meeting the constraints. Finally, the robot prototype was tested to verify the validity and rationality of the results obtained by the algorithm.

Key words: quadruped robot, gait planning, ant colony algorithm, longest path