13 research outputs found
Quadruped locomotion reference synthesis wıth central pattern generators tuned by evolutionary algorithms
With the recent advances in sensing, actuating and communication tecnologies and in theory for control and navigation; mobile robotic platforms are seen more promising than ever. This is so for many fields ranging from search and rescue in earthquake sites to military applications. Autonomous or teleoperated land vehicles make a major class of these mobile platforms. Legged robots, with their potential virtues in obstacle avoidance and cross-country capabilities stand out for applications on rugged terrain. In the nature, there are a lot of examples where four-legged anatomy embraces both speed and climbing characteristics. This thesis is on the locomotion reference generation of quadruped robots. Reference generation plays a vital role for the success of the locomotion controller. It involves the timing of the steps and the selection of various spatial parameters. The generated references should be suitable to be followed. They should not be over-demanding to cause the robot fall by loosing its balance. Nature tells that the pattern of the steps, that is, the gait, also changes with the speed of locomotion. A well-planned reference generation algorithm should take gait transitions into account. Central Pattern Generators (CPG) are biologically-inspired tools for legged-robot locomotion reference generation. They represent one of the main stream quadruped robot locomotion synthesis approaches, along with Zero Moment Point (ZMP) based techniques and trialâandâerror methods. CPGs stand out with their natural convenience for gait transitions. This is so because of the stable limit cycle behavior inhertent in their structure. However, the parameter selection and tuning of this type of reference generators is difficult. Often, trialâandâerror iterations are employed to obtain suitable parameters. The background of complicated dynamics and difficulties in reference generation makes automatic tuning of CPGs an interesting area of research. A natural command for a legged robot is the speed of its locomotion. When considered from kinematics point of view, there is no unique set of walking parameters which yield a given desired speed. However, some of the solutions can be more suitable for a stable walk, whereas others may lead to instability and cause robot to fall. This thesis proposes a quadruped gait tuning method based on evolutionary methods. A velocity command is given as the input to the system. A CPG based reference generation method is employed. 3D full-dynamics locomotion simulations with a 16-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) quadruped robot model are performed to assess the fitness of artificial populations. The fitness is measured by three different cost functions. The first cost function measures the amount of support the simulated quadruped receives from torsional virtual springs and dampers opposing the changes in body orientation, whereas the second one is a measure of energy efficiency in the locomotion. The third cost function is a combination of the firs two. Tuning results with the three cost functions are obtained and compared. Cross-over and mutation mechanisms generate new populations. Simulation results verify the merits of the proposed reference generation and tuning method
A Posture Sequence Learning System for an Anthropomorphic Robotic Hand
The paper presents a cognitive architecture for posture learning of an anthropomorphic robotic hand. Our approach is aimed to allow the robotic system to perform complex perceptual operations, to interact with a human user and to integrate the perceptions by a cognitive representation of the scene and the observed actions. The anthropomorphic robotic hand imitates the gestures acquired by the vision system in order to learn meaningful movements, to build its knowledge by different conceptual spaces and to perform complex interaction with the human operator
Generating timed trajectories foran autonomous robot
Tese de Doutoramento Programa Doutoral em Engenharia ElectrĂłnica e ComputadoresThe inclusion of timed movements in control architectures for mobile navigation has
received an increasing attention over the last years. Timed movements allow modulat-
ing the behavior of the mobile robot according to the elapsed time, such that the robot
reaches a goal location within a specified time constraint. If the robot takes longer
than expected to reach the goal location, its linear velocity is increased for compen-
sating the delay. Timed movements are also relevant when sequences of missions are
considered. The robot should follow the predefined time schedule, so that the next
mission is initiated without delay. The performance of the architecture that controls
the robot can be validated through simulations and field experiments. However, ex-
perimental tests do not cover all the possible solutions. These should be guided by a
stability analysis, which might provide directions to improve the architecture design
in cases of inadequate performance of the architecture.
This thesis aims at developing a navigation architecture and its stability analysis
based on the Contraction Theory. The architecture is based on nonlinear dynamical
systems and must guide a mobile robot, such that it reaches a goal location within a
time constraint while avoiding unexpected obstacles in a cluttered and dynamic real
environment. The stability analysis based on the Contraction Theory might provide
conditions to the dynamical systems parameters, such that the dynamical systems are
designed as contracting, ensuring the global exponential stability of the architecture.
Furthermore, Contraction Theory provides solutions to analyze the success of the mis-
sion as a stability problem. This provides formal results that evaluate the performance
of the architecture, allowing the comparison to other navigation architectures.
To verify the ability of the architecture to guide the mobile robot, several experi-
mental tests were conducted. The obtained results show that the proposed architecture
is able to drive mobile robots with timed movements in indoor environments for large
distances without human intervention. Furthermore, the results show that the Con-
traction Theory is an important tool to design stable control architectures and to
analyze the success of the robotic missions as a stability problem.A inclusão de movimentos temporizados em arquitecturas de controlo para navegação
mĂłvel tem aumentado ao longo dos Ășltimos anos. Movimentos temporizados permitem
modular o comportamento do robĂŽ de tal forma que ele chegue ao seu destino dentro de
um tempo especificado. Se o robĂŽ se atrasar, a sua velocidade linear deve ser aumen-
tada para compensar o atraso. Estes movimentos são também importantes quando se
consideram sequĂȘncias de missĂ”es. O robĂŽ deve seguir o escalonamento da sequĂȘncia,
de tal forma que a prĂłxima missĂŁo seja iniciada sem atraso. O desempenho da arqui-
tectura pode ser validado atravĂ©s de simulaçÔes e experiĂȘncias reais. Contudo, testes
experimentais nĂŁo cobrem todas as possĂveis soluçÔes. Estes devem ser conduzidos por
uma anålise de estabilidade, que pode fornecer direcçÔes para melhorar o desempenho
da arquitectura.
O objectivo desta tese é desenvolver uma arquitectura de navegação e analisar a sua
estabilidade através da teoria da Contracção. A arquitectura é baseada em sistemas
dinĂąmicos nĂŁo lineares e deve controlar o robĂŽ mĂłvel num ambiente real, desordenado
e dinùmico, de tal modo que ele chegue à posição alvo dentro de uma restrição de
tempo especificada. A anålise de estabilidade baseada na teoria da Contracção pode
fornecer condiçÔes aos parùmetros dos sistemas dinùmicos de modo a desenha-los como
contracçÔes, e assim garantir a estabilidade exponencial global da arquitectura. Esta
teoria fornece ainda soluçÔes interessantes para analisar o sucesso da missão como um
problema de estabilidade. Isto providencia resultados formais que avaliam o desem-
penho da arquitectura e permitem a comparação com outras arquitecturas.
Para verificar a habilidade da arquitectura em controlar o robĂŽ mĂłvel, foram con-
duzidos vĂĄrios testes experimentais. Os resultados obtidos mostram que a arquitectura
proposta Ă© capaz de controlar robĂŽs mĂłveis com movimentos temporizados em ambi-
entes interiores durante grandes distùncias e sem intervenção humana. Além disso,
os resultados mostram que a teoria da Contracção é uma ferramenta importante para
desenhar arquitecturas de controlo eståveis e para analisar o sucesso das missÔes efec-
tuadas pelo robĂŽ como um problema de estabilidade.Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) SFRH/BD/68805/2010
Using MapReduce Streaming for Distributed Life Simulation on the Cloud
Distributed software simulations are indispensable in the study of large-scale life models but often require the use of technically complex lower-level distributed computing frameworks, such as MPI. We propose to overcome the complexity challenge by applying the emerging MapReduce (MR) model to distributed life simulations and by running such simulations on the cloud. Technically, we design optimized MR streaming algorithms for discrete and continuous versions of Conwayâs life according to a general MR streaming pattern. We chose life because it is simple enough as a testbed for MRâs applicability to a-life simulations and general enough to make our results applicable to various lattice-based a-life models. We implement and empirically evaluate our algorithmsâ performance on Amazonâs Elastic MR cloud. Our experiments demonstrate that a single MR optimization technique called strip partitioning can reduce the execution time of continuous life simulations by 64%. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to propose and evaluate MR streaming algorithms for lattice-based simulations. Our algorithms can serve as prototypes in the development of novel MR simulation algorithms for large-scale lattice-based a-life models.https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/scs_books/1014/thumbnail.jp
Biomimetic Based Applications
The interaction between cells, tissues and biomaterial surfaces are the highlights of the book "Biomimetic Based Applications". In this regard the effect of nanostructures and nanotopographies and their effect on the development of a new generation of biomaterials including advanced multifunctional scaffolds for tissue engineering are discussed. The 2 volumes contain articles that cover a wide spectrum of subject matter such as different aspects of the development of scaffolds and coatings with enhanced performance and bioactivity, including investigations of material surface-cell interactions