293 research outputs found
Poppy Humanoid Platform: Experimental Evaluation of the Role of a Bio-inspired Thigh Shape
International audienceIn this paper, we present an experimental evaluation of the role of the morphology in the Poppy humanoid platform. More precisely, we have investigated the impact of the bio-inspired thigh, bended of 6°, on the balance and biped locomotion. We compare this design with a more traditional straight thigh. We describe both the theoretical model and real experiments showing that the bio-inspired thigh allows the reduction of falling speed by almost 60\% (single support phase) and the decrease of the lateral motion needed for the mass transfer from one foot to the other by 30\% (double support phase). We also present an experiment where the robot walks on a treadmill thanks to the social and physical guidance of expert users and we show that the bended thigh reduces the upper body motion by about 45\% indicating a more stable walk
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
Planning and Control Strategies for Motion and Interaction of the Humanoid Robot COMAN+
Despite the majority of robotic platforms are still confined in controlled environments such as factories, thanks to the ever-increasing level of autonomy and the progress on human-robot interaction, robots are starting to be employed for different operations, expanding their focus from uniquely industrial to more diversified scenarios.
Humanoid research seeks to obtain the versatility and dexterity of robots capable of mimicking human motion in any environment. With the aim of operating side-to-side with humans, they should be able to carry out complex tasks without posing a threat during operations.
In this regard, locomotion, physical interaction with the environment and safety are three essential skills to develop for a biped.
Concerning the higher behavioural level of a humanoid, this thesis addresses both ad-hoc movements generated for specific physical interaction tasks and cyclic movements for locomotion. While belonging to the same category and sharing some of the theoretical obstacles, these actions require different approaches: a general high-level task is composed of specific movements that depend on the environment and the nature of the task itself, while regular locomotion involves the generation of periodic trajectories of the limbs.
Separate planning and control architectures targeting these aspects of biped motion are designed and developed both from a theoretical and a practical standpoint, demonstrating their efficacy on the new humanoid robot COMAN+, built at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia.
The problem of interaction has been tackled by mimicking the intrinsic elasticity of human muscles, integrating active compliant controllers. However, while state-of-the-art robots may be endowed with compliant architectures, not many can withstand potential system failures that could compromise the safety of a human interacting with the robot. This thesis proposes an implementation of such low-level controller that guarantees a fail-safe behaviour, removing the threat that a humanoid robot could pose if a system failure occurred
Locomoção de humanoides robusta e versátil baseada em controlo analĂtico e fĂsica residual
Humanoid robots are made to resemble humans but their locomotion
abilities are far from ours in terms of agility and versatility. When humans
walk on complex terrains or face external disturbances, they
combine a set of strategies, unconsciously and efficiently, to regain
stability. This thesis tackles the problem of developing a robust omnidirectional
walking framework, which is able to generate versatile
and agile locomotion on complex terrains. We designed and developed
model-based and model-free walk engines and formulated the
controllers using different approaches including classical and optimal
control schemes and validated their performance through simulations
and experiments. These frameworks have hierarchical structures that
are composed of several layers. These layers are composed of several
modules that are connected together to fade the complexity and
increase the flexibility of the proposed frameworks. Additionally, they
can be easily and quickly deployed on different platforms.
Besides, we believe that using machine learning on top of analytical approaches
is a key to open doors for humanoid robots to step out of laboratories.
We proposed a tight coupling between analytical control and
deep reinforcement learning. We augmented our analytical controller
with reinforcement learning modules to learn how to regulate the walk
engine parameters (planners and controllers) adaptively and generate
residuals to adjust the robot’s target joint positions (residual physics).
The effectiveness of the proposed frameworks was demonstrated and
evaluated across a set of challenging simulation scenarios. The robot
was able to generalize what it learned in one scenario, by displaying
human-like locomotion skills in unforeseen circumstances, even in the
presence of noise and external pushes.Os robĂ´s humanoides sĂŁo feitos para se parecerem com humanos,
mas suas habilidades de locomoção estão longe das nossas em termos
de agilidade e versatilidade. Quando os humanos caminham em
terrenos complexos ou enfrentam distĂşrbios externos combinam diferentes
estratégias, de forma inconsciente e eficiente, para recuperar a
estabilidade. Esta tese aborda o problema de desenvolver um sistema
robusto para andar de forma omnidirecional, capaz de gerar uma locomoção
para robôs humanoides versátil e ágil em terrenos complexos.
Projetámos e desenvolvemos motores de locomoção sem modelos e
baseados em modelos. Formulámos os controladores usando diferentes
abordagens, incluindo esquemas de controlo clássicos e ideais,
e validámos o seu desempenho por meio de simulações e experiências
reais. Estes frameworks têm estruturas hierárquicas compostas por
várias camadas. Essas camadas são compostas por vários módulos
que sĂŁo conectados entre si para diminuir a complexidade e aumentar
a flexibilidade dos frameworks propostos. Adicionalmente, o sistema
pode ser implementado em diferentes plataformas de forma fácil.
Acreditamos que o uso de aprendizagem automática sobre abordagens
analĂticas Ă© a chave para abrir as portas para robĂ´s humanoides
saĂrem dos laboratĂłrios. Propusemos um forte acoplamento entre controlo
analĂtico e aprendizagem profunda por reforço. Expandimos o
nosso controlador analĂtico com mĂłdulos de aprendizagem por reforço
para aprender como regular os parâmetros do motor de caminhada
(planeadores e controladores) de forma adaptativa e gerar resĂduos
para ajustar as posições das juntas alvo do robĂ´ (fĂsica residual). A
eficácia das estruturas propostas foi demonstrada e avaliada em um
conjunto de cenários de simulação desafiadores. O robô foi capaz de
generalizar o que aprendeu em um cenário, exibindo habilidades de
locomoção humanas em circunstâncias imprevistas, mesmo na presença
de ruĂdo e impulsos externos.Programa Doutoral em Informátic
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