8,626 research outputs found
Optimal byzantine resilient convergence in oblivious robot networks
Given a set of robots with arbitrary initial location and no agreement on a
global coordinate system, convergence requires that all robots asymptotically
approach the exact same, but unknown beforehand, location. Robots are
oblivious-- they do not recall the past computations -- and are allowed to move
in a one-dimensional space. Additionally, robots cannot communicate directly,
instead they obtain system related information only via visual sensors. We draw
a connection between the convergence problem in robot networks, and the
distributed \emph{approximate agreement} problem (that requires correct
processes to decide, for some constant , values distance
apart and within the range of initial proposed values). Surprisingly, even
though specifications are similar, the convergence implementation in robot
networks requires specific assumptions about synchrony and Byzantine
resilience. In more details, we prove necessary and sufficient conditions for
the convergence of mobile robots despite a subset of them being Byzantine (i.e.
they can exhibit arbitrary behavior). Additionally, we propose a deterministic
convergence algorithm for robot networks and analyze its correctness and
complexity in various synchrony settings. The proposed algorithm tolerates f
Byzantine robots for (2f+1)-sized robot networks in fully synchronous networks,
(3f+1)-sized in semi-synchronous networks. These bounds are optimal for the
class of cautious algorithms, which guarantee that correct robots always move
inside the range of positions of the correct robots
Deep Reinforcement Learning for Tensegrity Robot Locomotion
Tensegrity robots, composed of rigid rods connected by elastic cables, have a
number of unique properties that make them appealing for use as planetary
exploration rovers. However, control of tensegrity robots remains a difficult
problem due to their unusual structures and complex dynamics. In this work, we
show how locomotion gaits can be learned automatically using a novel extension
of mirror descent guided policy search (MDGPS) applied to periodic locomotion
movements, and we demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach on tensegrity
robot locomotion. We evaluate our method with real-world and simulated
experiments on the SUPERball tensegrity robot, showing that the learned
policies generalize to changes in system parameters, unreliable sensor
measurements, and variation in environmental conditions, including varied
terrains and a range of different gravities. Our experiments demonstrate that
our method not only learns fast, power-efficient feedback policies for rolling
gaits, but that these policies can succeed with only the limited onboard
sensing provided by SUPERball's accelerometers. We compare the learned feedback
policies to learned open-loop policies and hand-engineered controllers, and
demonstrate that the learned policy enables the first continuous, reliable
locomotion gait for the real SUPERball robot. Our code and other supplementary
materials are available from http://rll.berkeley.edu/drl_tensegrityComment: International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2017.
Project website link is http://rll.berkeley.edu/drl_tensegrit
Momentum Control of Humanoid Robots with Series Elastic Actuators
Humanoid robots may require a degree of compliance at the joint level for
improving efficiency, shock tolerance, and safe interaction with humans. The
presence of joint elasticity, however, complexifies the design of balancing and
walking controllers. This paper proposes a control framework for extending
momentum based controllers developed for stiff actuators to the case of series
elastic actuators. The key point is to consider the motor velocities as an
intermediate control input, and then apply high-gain control to stabilise the
desired motor velocities achieving momentum control. Simulations carried out on
a model of the robot iCub verify the soundness of the proposed approach
On Time Optimization of Centroidal Momentum Dynamics
Recently, the centroidal momentum dynamics has received substantial attention
to plan dynamically consistent motions for robots with arms and legs in
multi-contact scenarios. However, it is also non convex which renders any
optimization approach difficult and timing is usually kept fixed in most
trajectory optimization techniques to not introduce additional non convexities
to the problem. But this can limit the versatility of the algorithms. In our
previous work, we proposed a convex relaxation of the problem that allowed to
efficiently compute momentum trajectories and contact forces. However, our
approach could not minimize a desired angular momentum objective which
seriously limited its applicability. Noticing that the non-convexity introduced
by the time variables is of similar nature as the centroidal dynamics one, we
propose two convex relaxations to the problem based on trust regions and soft
constraints. The resulting approaches can compute time-optimized dynamically
consistent trajectories sufficiently fast to make the approach realtime
capable. The performance of the algorithm is demonstrated in several
multi-contact scenarios for a humanoid robot. In particular, we show that the
proposed convex relaxation of the original problem finds solutions that are
consistent with the original non-convex problem and illustrate how timing
optimization allows to find motion plans that would be difficult to plan with
fixed timing.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, ICRA 201
Automatic Gain Tuning of a Momentum Based Balancing Controller for Humanoid Robots
This paper proposes a technique for automatic gain tuning of a momentum based
balancing controller for humanoid robots. The controller ensures the
stabilization of the centroidal dynamics and the associated zero dynamics.
Then, the closed-loop, constrained joint space dynamics is linearized and the
controller's gains are chosen so as to obtain desired properties of the
linearized system. Symmetry and positive definiteness constraints of gain
matrices are enforced by proposing a tracker for symmetric positive definite
matrices. Simulation results are carried out on the humanoid robot iCub.Comment: Accepted at IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots
(HUMANOIDS). 201
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