Patent ID: 8840680

Claim:
A method for controlling a device comprising a plurality of joints, the method comprising: receiving a control signal; determining a mechanical state of the device within a topographic state map for the device specifying one or more motion axes, a plurality of poses for the plurality of joints, and a plurality of transitions between the plurality of poses, each of said plurality of transitions associated with one of said motion axes, each one of said motion axes associated with complementary control signals, each direction along said one of said motion axes associated with a different one of said complementary control signals, and each of said plurality of poses being a different pre-defined arrangement of said plurality of joints; identifying one or more transitions of said plurality of transitions associated with said mechanical state based on the topographic state map; determining whether the control signal is one of the complementary control signals for a one of the motion axes associated with one of the identified transitions; and upon determining that the control signal is a one of the complementary control signals for a one of said motion axes associated with one of said identified transitions, adjusting said mechanical state according to the one of the identified transitions in a direction associated with said one of said complementary control signals.