On periodically pendulum-diven systems for underactuated locomotion: a viscoelastic jointed model

This paper investigates the locomotion principles and nonlinear dynamics of the periodically pendulum-driven (PD) systems using the case of a 2-DOF viscoelastic jointed model. As a mechanical system with underactuation degree one, the proposed system has strongly coupled nonlinearities and can be utilized as a potential benchmark for studying complicated PD systems. By mathematical modeling and non-dimensionalization of the physical system, an insight is obtained to the global system dynamics. The proposed 2-DOF viscoelastic jointed model establishes a commendable interconnection between the system dynamics and the periodically actuated force. Subsequently, the periodic locomotion principles of the actuated subsystem are elaborately studied and synthesized with the characteristic of viscoelastic element. Then the analysis of qualitative changes is conducted respectively under the varying excitation amplitude and frequency. Simulation results validate the efficiency and performance of the proposed system comparing with the conventional system

Dynamic balancing of underactuated robots

This thesis presents the control of planar underactuated systems that have one less control input than the number of degrees of freedom. The underactuated robots are studied to achieve dynamically stable motions commonly encountered during robot locomotion. This work emphasizes the relation between the underactuated systems and biped locomotion and builds on the previous works in the literature on underactuated robot locomotion. Two planar system models are treated: an acrobatic robot and a compass biped with torso. The dynamic stability of fast periodic trajectories of these systems are regulated by designing asymptotically stable feedback controllers. The resulting internal dynamics of the systems are analyzed and shaped to achieve energy efficiency and robustness of the closed-loop system trajectories. In particular, Bézier polynomial approximations and parameter optimization methods are used to systematically construct the internal dynamics of the systems. Simulation results are presented for dynamically stable orbits of the acrobatic robot and the compass biped with torso

Nonlinear control of underactuated mechanical systems with application to robotics and aerospace vehicles

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2001.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 308-316).This thesis is devoted to nonlinear control, reduction, and classification of underactuated mechanical systems. Underactuated systems are mechanical control systems with fewer controls than the number of configuration variables. Control of underactuated systems is currently an active field of research due to their broad applications in Robotics, Aerospace Vehicles, and Marine Vehicles. The examples of underactuated systems include flexible-link robots, nobile robots, walking robots, robots on mobile platforms, cars, locomotive systems, snake-type and swimming robots, acrobatic robots, aircraft, spacecraft, helicopters, satellites, surface vessels, and underwater vehicles. Based on recent surveys, control of general underactuated systems is a major open problem. Almost all real-life mechanical systems possess kinetic symmetry properties, i.e. their kinetic energy does not depend on a subset of configuration variables called external variables. In this work, I exploit such symmetry properties as a means of reducing the complexity of control design for underactuated systems. As a result, reduction and nonlinear control of high-order underactuated systems with kinetic symmetry is the main focus of this thesis. By "reduction", we mean a procedure to reduce control design for the original underactuated system to control of a lowerorder nonlinear or mechanical system. One way to achieve such a reduction is by transforming an underactuated system to a cascade nonlinear system with structural properties. If all underactuated systems in a class can be transformed into a specific class of nonlinear systems, we refer to the transformed systems as the "normal form" of the corresponding class of underactuated systems. Our main contribution is to find explicit change of coordinates and control that transform several classes of underactuated systems, which appear in robotics and aerospace applications, into cascade nonlinear systems with structural properties that are convenient for control design purposes. The obtained cascade normal forms are three classes of nonlinear systems, namely, systems in strict feedback form, feedforward form, and nontriangular linear-quadratic form. The names of these three classes are due to the particular lower-triangular, upper-triangular, and nontriangular structure in which the state variables appear in the dynamics of the corresponding nonlinear systems. The triangular normal forms of underactuated systems can be controlled using existing backstepping and feedforwarding procedures. However, control of the nontriangular normal forms is a major open problem. We address this problem for important classes of nontriangular systems of interest by introducing a new stabilization method based on the solutions of fixed-point equations as stabilizing nonlinear state feedback laws. This controller is obtained via a simple recursive method that is convenient for implementation. For special classes of nontriangular nonlinear systems, such fixed-point equations can be solved explicitly ...by Reza Olfati-Saber.Ph.D

Friction compensation in the swing-up control of viscously damped underactuated robotics

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering in the Control Research Group School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Johannesburg, 2017In this research, we observed a torque-related limitation in the swing-up control of underactuated mechanical systems which had been integrated with viscous damping in the unactuated joint. The objective of this research project was thus to develop a practical work-around solution to this limitation. The nth order underactuated robotic system is represented in this research as a collection of compounded pendulums with n-1 actuators placed at each joint with the exception of the first joint. This system is referred to as the PAn-1 robot (Passive first joint, followed by n-1 Active joints), with the Acrobot (PA1 robot) and the PAA robot (or PA2 robot) being among the most well-known examples. A number of friction models exist in literature, which include, and are not exclusive to, the Coulomb and the Stribeck effect models, but the viscous damping model was selected for this research since it is more extensively covered in existing literature. The effectiveness of swing-up control using Lyapunov’s direct method when applied on the undamped PAn-1 robot has been vigorously demonstrated in existing literature, but there is no literature that discusses the swing-up control of viscously damped systems. We show, however, that the application of satisfactory swing-up control using Lyapunov’s direct method is constrained to underactuated systems that are either undamped or actively damped (viscous damping integrated into the actuated joints only). The violation of this constraint results in the derivation of a torque expression that cannot be solved for (invertibility problem, for systems described by n > 2) or a torque expression which contains a conditional singularity (singularity problem, for systems with n = 2). This constraint is formally summarised as the matched damping condition, and highlights a clear limitation in the Lyapunov-related swing-up control of underactuated mechanical systems. This condition has significant implications on the practical realisation of the swing-up control of underactuated mechanical systems, which justifies the investigation into the possibility of a work-around. We thus show that the limitation highlighted by the matched damping condition can be overcome through the implementation of the partial feedback linearisation (PFL) technique. Two key contributions are generated from this research as a result, which iii include the gain selection criterion (for Traditional Collocated PFL), and the convergence algorithm (for noncollocated PFL). The gain selection criterion is an analytical solution that is composed of a set of inequalities that map out a geometric region of appropriate gains in the swing-up gain space. Selecting a gain combination within this region will ensure that the fully-pendent equilibrium point (FPEP) is unstable, which is a necessary condition for swing-up control when the system is initialised near the FPEP. The convergence algorithm is an experimental solution that, once executed, will provide information about the distal pendulum’s angular initial condition that is required to swing-up a robot with a particular angular initial condition for the proximal pendulum, along with the minimum gain that is required to execute the swing-up control in this particular configuration. Significant future contributions on this topic may result from the inclusion of more complex friction models. Additionally, the degree of actuation of the system may be reduced through the implementation of energy storing components, such as torsional springs, at the joint. In summary, we present two contributions in the form of the gain selection criterion and the convergence algorithm which accommodate the circumnavigation of the limitation formalised as the matched damping condition. This condition pertains to the Lyapunov-related swing-up control of underactuated mechanical systems that have been integrated with viscous damping in the unactuated joint.CK201

Second order sliding mode control of underactuated Mechanical systems I: Local stabilization with application to an inverted pendulum

International audienceSecond order sliding mode control synthesis is developed for underactuated mechanical systems, operating under uncertainty conditions. In order to locally stabilize an underactuated system around an unstable equilibrium, an output is specified in such a way that the corresponding zero dynamics is locally asymptotically stable. Then, the desired stability property of the closed-loop system is provided by applying a quasihomogeneous second order sliding mode controller, driving the system to the zero dynamics manifold in finite time. Although the present synthesis exhibits an infinite number of switches on a finite time interval, it does not rely on the generation of first order sliding modes, while providing robustness features similar to those possessed by their standard sliding mode counterparts. A second order sliding mode appears on the zero dynamics manifold which is of co-dimension greater than the control space dimension. Performance issues of the proposed synthesis are illustrated in numerical and experimental studies of a cart-Pendulum system

Sample-based motion planning in high-dimensional and differentially-constrained systems

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2010.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Cataloged from student submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-124).State of the art sample-based path planning algorithms, such as the Rapidly-exploring Random Tree (RRT), have proven to be effective in path planning for systems subject to complex kinematic and geometric constraints. The performance of these algorithms, however, degrade as the dimension of the system increases. Furthermore, sample-based planners rely on distance metrics which do not work well when the system has differential constraints. Such constraints are particularly challenging in systems with non-holonomic and underactuated dynamics. This thesis develops two intelligent sampling strategies to help guide the search process. To reduce sensitivity to dimension, sampling can be done in a low-dimensional task space rather than in the high-dimensional state space. Altering the sampling strategy in this way creates a Voronoi Bias in task space, which helps to guide the search, while the RRT continues to verify trajectory feasibility in the full state space. Fast path planning is demonstrated using this approach on a 1500-link manipulator. To enable task-space biasing for underactuated systems, a hierarchical task space controller is developed by utilizing partial feedback linearization. Another sampling strategy is also presented, where the local reachability of the tree is approximated, and used to bias the search, for systems subject to differential constraints. Reachability guidance is shown to improve search performance of the RRT by an order of magnitude when planning on a pendulum and non-holonomic car. The ideas of task-space biasing and reachability guidance are then combined for demonstration of a motion planning algorithm implemented on LittleDog, a quadruped robot. The motion planning algorithm successfully planned bounding trajectories over extremely rough terrain.by Alexander C. Shkolnik.Ph.D