1,319 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
Gait generation via intrinsically stable MPC for a multi-mass humanoid model
We consider the problem of generating a gait with no a priori assigned footsteps while taking into account the contribution of the swinging leg to the total Zero Moment Point (ZMP). This is achieved by considering a multi-mass model of the humanoid and distinguishing between secondary masses with known pre-defined motion and the remaining, primary, masses. In the case of a single primary mass with constant height, it is possible to transform the original gait generation problem for the multi-mass system into a single LIP-like problem. We can then take full advantage of an intrinsically stable MPC framework to generate a gait that takes into account the swinging leg motion
Straight-Leg Walking Through Underconstrained Whole-Body Control
We present an approach for achieving a natural, efficient gait on bipedal
robots using straightened legs and toe-off. Our algorithm avoids complex height
planning by allowing a whole-body controller to determine the straightest
possible leg configuration at run-time. The controller solutions are biased
towards a straight leg configuration by projecting leg joint angle objectives
into the null-space of the other quadratic program motion objectives. To allow
the legs to remain straight throughout the gait, toe-off was utilized to
increase the kinematic reachability of the legs. The toe-off motion is achieved
through underconstraining the foot position, allowing it to emerge naturally.
We applied this approach of under-specifying the motion objectives to the Atlas
humanoid, allowing it to walk over a variety of terrain. We present both
experimental and simulation results and discuss performance limitations and
potential improvements.Comment: Submitted to 2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and
Automatio
Imprecise dynamic walking with time-projection control
We present a new walking foot-placement controller based on 3LP, a 3D model
of bipedal walking that is composed of three pendulums to simulate falling,
swing and torso dynamics. Taking advantage of linear equations and closed-form
solutions of the 3LP model, our proposed controller projects intermediate
states of the biped back to the beginning of the phase for which a discrete LQR
controller is designed. After the projection, a proper control policy is
generated by this LQR controller and used at the intermediate time. This
control paradigm reacts to disturbances immediately and includes rules to
account for swing dynamics and leg-retraction. We apply it to a simulated Atlas
robot in position-control, always commanded to perform in-place walking. The
stance hip joint in our robot keeps the torso upright to let the robot
naturally fall, and the swing hip joint tracks the desired footstep location.
Combined with simple Center of Pressure (CoP) damping rules in the low-level
controller, our foot-placement enables the robot to recover from strong pushes
and produce periodic walking gaits when subject to persistent sources of
disturbance, externally or internally. These gaits are imprecise, i.e.,
emergent from asymmetry sources rather than precisely imposing a desired
velocity to the robot. Also in extreme conditions, restricting linearity
assumptions of the 3LP model are often violated, but the system remains robust
in our simulations. An extensive analysis of closed-loop eigenvalues, viable
regions and sensitivity to push timings further demonstrate the strengths of
our simple controller
Push recovery with stepping strategy based on time-projection control
In this paper, we present a simple control framework for on-line push
recovery with dynamic stepping properties. Due to relatively heavy legs in our
robot, we need to take swing dynamics into account and thus use a linear model
called 3LP which is composed of three pendulums to simulate swing and torso
dynamics. Based on 3LP equations, we formulate discrete LQR controllers and use
a particular time-projection method to adjust the next footstep location
on-line during the motion continuously. This adjustment, which is found based
on both pelvis and swing foot tracking errors, naturally takes the swing
dynamics into account. Suggested adjustments are added to the Cartesian 3LP
gaits and converted to joint-space trajectories through inverse kinematics.
Fixed and adaptive foot lift strategies also ensure enough ground clearance in
perturbed walking conditions. The proposed structure is robust, yet uses very
simple state estimation and basic position tracking. We rely on the physical
series elastic actuators to absorb impacts while introducing simple laws to
compensate their tracking bias. Extensive experiments demonstrate the
functionality of different control blocks and prove the effectiveness of
time-projection in extreme push recovery scenarios. We also show self-produced
and emergent walking gaits when the robot is subject to continuous dragging
forces. These gaits feature dynamic walking robustness due to relatively soft
springs in the ankles and avoiding any Zero Moment Point (ZMP) control in our
proposed architecture.Comment: 20 pages journal pape
Fast walking with rhythmic sway of torso in a 2D passive ankle walker
There is a category of biped robots that are equipped with passive or un-actuated ankles, which we call Passive-Ankle Walkers (PAWs). Lack of actuation at ankles is a disadvantage in the fast walking of PAWs. We started this study with an intuitive hypothesis that rhythmic sway of torso may enable faster walking in PAWs. To test this hypothesis, firstly, we optimized the rhythmic sway of torso of a simulated PAW model for fast walking speed, and analyzed the robustness of the optimal trajectories. Then we implemented the optimal trajectories on a real robot. Both the simulation analysis and the experimental results indicated that optimized torso-swaying can greatly increase the walking speed by 40%. By analyzing the walking patterns of the simulated model and the real robot, we identified the reason for the faster walking with swaying-torso: The rhythmic sway of torso enables the robot to walk with a relatively large step-length while still keeninu a hizh sten-frenuencv
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