Co-jump: Cooperative Jumping with Quadrupedal Robots via Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning
About
While single-agent legged locomotion has witnessed remarkable progress, individual robots remain fundamentally constrained by physical actuation limits. To transcend these boundaries, we introduce Co-jump, a cooperative task where two quadrupedal robots synchronize to execute jumps far beyond their solo capabilities. We tackle the high-impulse contact dynamics of this task under a decentralized setting, achieving synchronization without explicit communication or pre-specified motion primitives. Our framework leverages Multi-Agent Proximal Policy Optimization (MAPPO) enhanced by a progressive curriculum strategy, which effectively overcomes the sparse-reward exploration challenges inherent in mechanically coupled systems. We demonstrate robust performance in simulation and successful transfer to physical hardware, executing multi-directional jumps onto platforms up to 1.5 m in height. Specifically, one of the robots achieves a foot-end elevation of 1.1 m, which represents a 144% improvement over the 0.45 m jump height of a standalone quadrupedal robot, demonstrating superior vertical performance. Notably, this precise coordination is achieved solely through proprioceptive feedback, establishing a foundation for communication-free collaborative locomotion in constrained environments.