3,155 research outputs found
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
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
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
Fifteen years of wireless sensors for balance assessment in neurological disorders
Balance impairment is a major mechanism behind falling along with environmental hazards. Under physiological conditions, ageing leads to a progressive decline in balance control per se. Moreover, various neurological disorders further increase the risk of falls by deteriorating specific nervous system functions contributing to balance. Over the last 15 years, significant advancements in technology have provided wearable solutions for balance evaluation and the management of postural instability in patients with neurological disorders. This narrative review aims to address the topic of balance and wireless sensors in several neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and other neurodegenerative and acute clinical syndromes. The review discusses the physiological and pathophysiological bases of balance in neurological disorders as well as the traditional and innovative instruments currently available for balance assessment. The technical and clinical perspectives of wearable technologies, as well as current challenges in the field of teleneurology, are also examined
Renormalization Group Analysis of a Quivering String Model of Posture Control
Scaling concepts and renormalization group (RG) methods are applied to a
simple linear model of human posture control consisting of a trembling or
quivering string subject to damping and restoring forces. The string is driven
by uncorrelated white Gaussian noise intended to model the corrections of the
physiological control system. We find that adding a weak quadratic nonlinearity
to the posture control model opens up a rich and complicated phase space
(representing the dynamics) with various non-trivial fixed points and basins of
attraction. The transition from diffusive to saturated regimes of the linear
model is understood as a crossover phenomenon, and the robustness of the linear
model with respect to weak non-linearities is confirmed. Correlations in
posture fluctuations are obtained in both the time and space domain. There is
an attractive fixed point identified with falling. The scaling of the
correlations in the front-back displacement, which can be measured in the
laboratory, is predicted for both the large-separation (along the string) and
long-time regimes of posture control.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, RevTeX, accepted for publication in PR
The Role of Optic Flow and Gaze Direction on Postural Control
Objective: The observers use the optic flow to control self-motion. However, the current state of knowledge indicates that it is difficult to understand how optic flow is used by the visual system without a direct measurement of the changes in the flow patterns caused by eye movements during natural behaviour. The purpose of this literature review is to highlight the importance of the integration between optic flow and eye movements for postural control. Methods: A literature review of the electronic papers through July 2022 was independently performed by three investigators. The selection of the studies was made by a search on PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar with two groups of selected keywords. We excluded papers performed on subjects with pathologies, children, and the elderly. Results: The results of this literature analysis highlight that eye movements are required to drive visual motion processing and heading perception in both static and dynamic contexts. Conclusion: Although we now know many neural mechanisms that process heading direction from the optic flow field, a consideration of optic flow patterns relative to gaze direction provides more detailed information on how the retinal flow field is used to control body balance. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2022-06-06-020 Full Text: PD
Towards understanding human locomotion
Die zentrale Frage, die in der vorliegenden Arbeit untersucht wurde, ist, wie man die komplizierte Dynamik des menschlichen Laufens besser verstehen kann. In der wissenschaftlichen Literatur werden zur Beschreibung von Laufbewegungen (Gehen und Rennen) oftmals minimalistische "Template"-Modelle verwendet. Diese sehr einfachen Modelle beschreiben nur einen ausgewählten Teil der Dynamik, meistens die Schwerpunktsbahn. In dieser Arbeit wird nun versucht, mittels Template-Modellen das Verständnis des Laufens voranzubringen. Die Analyse der Schwerpunktsbewegung durch Template-Modelle setzt eine
präzise Bestimmung der Schwerpunktsbahn im Experiment voraus. Hierfür wird in Kapitel 2.3 eine neue Methode vorgestellt, welche besonders robust gegen die typischen Messfehler bei Laufexperimenten ist. Die am häfigsten verwendeten Template-Modelle sind das Masse-Feder-Modell und das inverse Pendel, welche zur Beschreibung der Körperschwerpunktsbewegung gedacht sind und das Drehmoment um den Schwerpunkt vernachlässigen. Zur Beschreibung der Stabilisierung der Körperhaltung (und damit der Drehimpulsbilanz) wird in Abschnitt 3.3 das Template-Modell "virtuelles Pendel" für das menschliche Gehen eingeführt und mit experimentellen Daten verglichen. Die Diskussion möglicher Realisierungsmechanismen legt dabei nahe, dass die Aufrichtung des menschlichen Gangs im Laufe der Evolution keine große mechanische Hürde war. In der Literatur wird oft versucht, Eigenschaften der Bewegung wie Stabilität durch Eigenschaften der Template-Modelle zu erklären. Dies wird in modifizierter Form auch in der vorliegen Arbeit getan. Hierzu wird zunächst eine experimentell bestimmte Schwerpunktsbewegung auf das Masse-Feder-Modell übertragen. Anschließend wird die Kontrollvorschrift der Schritt-zu-Schritt-Anpassung der Modellparameter identifiziert sowie eine geeignete Näherung angegeben, um die Stabilität des Modells, welches
mit dieser Kontrollvorschrift ausgestattet wird, zu analysieren. Der Vergleich mit einer direkten Bestimmung der Stabilität aus einem Floquet-Modell zeigt qualitativ gute Übereinstimmung. Beide Ansätze führen auf das Ergebnis, dass beim langsamen menschlichen Rennen Störungen innerhalb von zwei Schritten weitgehend abgebaut werden. Zusammenfassend wurde gezeigt, wie Template-Modelle zum Verständnis der Laufbewegung beitragen können. Gerade die Identifikation der individuellen Kontrollvorschrift auf der Abstraktionsebene des Masse-Feder-Modells erlaubt zukünftig neue Wege, aktive Prothesen oder Orthesen in menschenähnlicher Weise zu steuern und ebnet den Weg, menschliches Rennen auf Roboter zu übertragen.Human locomotion is part of our everyday life, however the mechanisms are not well enough understood to be transferred into technical devices like orthoses, protheses or humanoid robots. In biomechanics often minimalistic so-called template models are used to describe locomotion. While these abstract models in principle offer a language to describe both human behavior and technical control input, the relation between human locomotion and locomotion of these templates was long unclear.
This thesis focusses on how human locomotion can be described and analyzed using template models. Often, human running is described using the SLIP template. Here, it is shown that SLIP (possibly equipped with any controller) cannot show human-like disturbance reactions, and an appropriate extension of SLIP is proposed. Further, a new template to describe postural stabilization is proposed. Summarizing, this theses shows how simple template models can be used to enhance the understanding of human gait
Differential postural effects of plantar-flexor muscles fatigue under normal, altered and improved vestibular and neck somatosensory conditions
The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of plantar-flexor
muscles fatigue on postural control during quiet standing under normal, altered
and improved vestibular and neck somatosensory conditions. To address this
objective, young male university students were asked to stand upright as still
as possible with their eyes closed in two conditions of No Fatigue and Fatigue
of the plantar-flexor muscles. In Experiment 1 (n=15), the postural task was
executed in two Neutral head and Head tilted backward postures, recognized to
degrade vestibular and neck somatosensory information. In Experiment 2 (n=15),
the postural task was executed in two conditions of No tactile and Tactile
stimulation of the neck provided by the application of strips of adhesive
bandage to the skin over and around the neck. Centre of foot pressure
displacements were recorded using a force platform. Results showed that (1) the
Fatigue condition yielded increased CoP displacements relative to the No
Fatigue condition (Experiment 1 and Experiment 2), (2) this destabilizing
effect was more accentuated in the Head tilted backward posture than Neutral
head posture (Experiment 1) and (3) this destabilizing effect was less
accentuated in the condition of Tactile stimulation than that of No tactile
stimulation of the neck (Experiment 2). In the context of the multisensory
control of balance, these results suggest an increased reliance on vestibular
and neck somatosensory information for controlling posture during quiet
standing in condition of altered ankle neuromuscular function
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