25,325 research outputs found
3LP: a linear 3D-walking model including torso and swing dynamics
In this paper, we present a new model of biped locomotion which is composed
of three linear pendulums (one per leg and one for the whole upper body) to
describe stance, swing and torso dynamics. In addition to double support, this
model has different actuation possibilities in the swing hip and stance ankle
which could be widely used to produce different walking gaits. Without the need
for numerical time-integration, closed-form solutions help finding periodic
gaits which could be simply scaled in certain dimensions to modulate the motion
online. Thanks to linearity properties, the proposed model can provide a
computationally fast platform for model predictive controllers to predict the
future and consider meaningful inequality constraints to ensure feasibility of
the motion. Such property is coming from describing dynamics with joint torques
directly and therefore, reflecting hardware limitations more precisely, even in
the very abstract high level template space. The proposed model produces
human-like torque and ground reaction force profiles and thus, compared to
point-mass models, it is more promising for precise control of humanoid robots.
Despite being linear and lacking many other features of human walking like CoM
excursion, knee flexion and ground clearance, we show that the proposed model
can predict one of the main optimality trends in human walking, i.e. nonlinear
speed-frequency relationship. In this paper, we mainly focus on describing the
model and its capabilities, comparing it with human data and calculating
optimal human gait variables. Setting up control problems and advanced
biomechanical analysis still remain for future works.Comment: Journal paper under revie
A fast search strategy for gravitational waves from low-mass X-ray binaries
We present a new type of search strategy designed specifically to find
continuously emitting gravitational wave sources in known binary systems based
on the incoherent sum of frequency modulated binary signal sidebands. The
search pipeline can be divided into three stages: the first is a wide
bandwidth, F-statistic search demodulated for sky position. This is followed by
a fast second stage in which areas in frequency space are identified as signal
candidates through the frequency domain convolution of the F-statistic with an
approximate signal template. For this second stage only precise information on
the orbit period and approximate information on the orbital semi-major axis are
required apriori. For the final stage we propose a fully coherent Markov chain
monte carlo based follow up search on the frequency subspace defined by the
candidates identified by the second stage. This search is particularly suited
to the low-mass X-ray binaries, for which orbital period and sky position are
typically well known and additional orbital parameters and neutron star spin
frequency are not. We note that for the accreting X-ray millisecond pulsars,
for which spin frequency and orbital parameters are well known, the second
stage can be omitted and the fully coherent search stage can be performed. We
describe the search pipeline with respect to its application to a simplified
phase model and derive the corresponding sensitivity of the search.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the GWDAW 11 conference proceeding
DisPar Methods and Their Implementation on a Heterogeneous PC Cluster
Esta dissertação avalia duas áreas cruciais da simulação de advecção-
difusão.
A primeira parte é dedicada a estudos numéricos. Foi comprovado que
existe uma relação directa entre os momentos de deslocamento de uma partícula
de poluente e os erros de truncatura. Esta relação criou os fundamentos teóricos
para criar uma nova família de métodos numéricos, DisPar.
Foram introduzidos e avaliados três métodos. O primeiro é um método
semi-Lagrangeano 2D baseado nos momentos de deslocamento de uma partícula
para malhas regulares, DisPar-k. Com este método é possível controlar
explicitamente o erro de truncatura desejado. O segundo método também se
baseia nos momentos de deslocamento de uma partícula, sendo, contudo,
desenvolvido para malhas uniformes não regulares, DisParV. Este método
também apresentou uma forte robustez numérica. Ao contrário dos métodos
DisPar-K e DisParV, o terceiro segue uma aproximação Eulereana com três
regiões de destino da partícula. O método foi desenvolvido de forma a manter um
perfil de concentração inicial homogéneo independentemente dos parâmetros
usados. A comparação com o método DisPar-k em situações não lineares realçou
as fortes limitações associadas aos métodos de advecção-difusão em cenários
reais.
A segunda parte da tese é dedicada à implementação destes métodos num
Cluster de PCs heterogéneo. Para o fazer, foi desenvolvido um novo esquema de
partição, AORDA. A aplicação, Scalable DisPar, foi implementada com a
plataforma da Microsoft .Net, tendo sido totalmente escrita em C#. A aplicação foi
testada no estuário do Tejo que se localiza perto de Lisboa, Portugal.
Para superar os problemas de balanceamento de cargas provocados pelas
marés, foram implementados diversos esquemas de partição: “Scatter
Partitioning”, balanceamento dinâmico de cargas e uma mistura de ambos. Pelos
testes elaborados, foi possível verificar que o número de máquinas vizinhas se
apresentou como o mais limitativo em termos de escalabilidade, mesmo utilizando
comunicações assíncronas. As ferramentas utilizadas para as comunicações
foram a principal causa deste fenómeno. Aparentemente, o Microsoft .Net remoting 1.0 não funciona de forma apropriada nos ambientes de concorrência
criados pelas comunicações assíncronas. Este facto não permitiu a obtenção de
conclusões acerca dos níveis relativos de escalabilidade das diferentes
estratégias de partição utilizadas. No entanto, é fortemente sugerido que a melhor
estratégia irá ser “Scatter Partitioning” associada a balanceamento dinâmico de
cargas e a comunicações assíncronas. A técnica de “Scatter Partitioning” mitiga
os problemas de desbalanceamentos de cargas provocados pelas marés. Por
outro lado, o balanceamento dinâmico será essencialmente activado no inicio da
simulação para corrigir possíveis problemas nas previsões dos poderes de cada
processador.This thesis assesses two main areas of the advection-diffusion simulation.
The first part is dedicated to the numerical studies. It has been proved that
there is a direct relation between pollutant particle displacement moments and
truncation errors. This relation raised the theoretical foundations to create a new
family of numerical methods, DisPar.
Three methods have been introduced and appraised. The first is a 2D semi-
Lagrangian method based on particle displacement moments for regular grids,
DisPar-k. With this method one can explicitly control the desired truncation error.
The second method is also based on particle displacement moments but it is
targeted to regular/non-uniform grids, DisParV. The method has also shown a
strong numerical capacity. Unlike DisPar-k and DisParV, the third method is a
Eulerian approximation for three particle destination units. The method was
developed so that an initial concentration profile will be kept homogeneous
independently of the used parameters. The comparison with DisPar-k in non-linear
situations has emphasized the strong shortcomings associated with numerical
methods for advection-diffusion in real scenarios.
The second part of the dissertation is dedicated to the implementation of
these methods in a heterogeneous PC Cluster. To do so, a new partitioning
method has been developed, AORDA. The application, Scalable DisPar, was
implemented with the Microsoft .Net framework and was totally written in C#. The
application was tested on the Tagus Estuary, near Lisbon (Portugal).
To overcome the load imbalances caused by tides scatter partitioning was
implemented, dynamic load balancing and a mix of both. By the tests made, it was
possible to verify that the number of neighboring machines was the main factor
affecting the application scalability, even with asynchronous communications. The
tools used for communications mainly caused this. Microsoft .Net remoting 1.0
does not seem to properly work in environments with concurrency associated with
the asynchronous communications. This did not allow taking conclusions about the
relative efficiency between the partitioning strategies used. However, it is strongly
suggested that the best approach will be to scatter partitioning with dynamic load
balancing and with asynchronous communications. Scatter partitioning mitigates
load imbalances caused by tides and dynamic load balancing is basically trigged
at the begging of the simulation to correct possible problems in processor power
predictions
Modelling and Control of a Hybrid Wheeled Jumping Robot
In this paper, we study a wheeled robot with a prismatic extension joint.
This allows the robot to build up momentum to perform jumps over obstacles and
to swing up to the upright position after the loss of balance. We propose a
template model for the class of such two-wheeled jumping robots. This model can
be considered as the simplest wheeled-legged system. We provide an analytical
derivation of the system dynamics which we use inside a model predictive
controller (MPC). We study the behavior of the model and demonstrate highly
dynamic motions such as swing-up and jumping. Furthermore, these motions are
discovered through optimization from first principles. We evaluate the
controller on a variety of tasks and uneven terrains in a simulator.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures, IROS 2020, Video URL:
https://youtu.be/j2sIWL8m2p
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