Gyrubot: nonanthropomorphic stabilization for a biped

International audienceDemands on leg degrees of freedom and control precision for bipedal robotics are steadily increasing, especially for the tasks involving walking on a rough terrain. In this paper we present an alternative, as well as a working proof-of-concept. Meet gyrubot: a 5-link almost planar bipedal robot with a torso complemented by a nonanthropomorphic stabilization system, capable of blindly walking through uneven areas. Despite being almost planar, the robot does not need any support in the frontal plane! This paper describes the mechanical design and the architecture of the controllers. We also provide the experimental evidence of the ability of gyrubot to navigate across non-flat terrains

Real-time system architecture design practices

International audienceIn this paper we give an overview of both hardware and software architectures of real time systems used in devices for various purposes-from lab bench contraptions to cars. The goal of the paper is to reveal separate classes of such architectures as well as to define preconditions for choosing a particular architecture

Stabilization system of a bipedal non-anthropomorphic robot AnyWalker

International audienceWe present a bipedal walking non-anthropomorphic robot AnyWalker developed in the laboratory of robotics and mechatronics of the Kuban State University. The goal is to be able to overcome obstacles exceeding the size of the robot itself. In addition to the degrees of freedom due to the joints between the links, the robot is equipped with reaction wheels enhancing its dynamic stabilization capabilities. This paper presents a study of the stability zones in the frontal plane of the robot with and without the reaction wheel support

Stabilization of a hopper with three reaction wheels

International audienceIn this paper we present our ongoing hopping bot project. The hopper is stabilized with three reaction wheels; the main idea of the project is to develop a balancing system suitable for a dynamic stabilization of a bipedal walk for a non-anthropomorphic robot. We present an energy efficient hardware and software design of the stabilization system as well as a choice of electrical and mechanical parameters of the device

Experimental comparison of velocity estimators for a control moment gyroscope inverted pendulum

International audienceWe consider the problem of velocity estimation for a control moment gyroscope inverted pendulum. To this end, we a consider model-free differentiator, a model-based linear observer and a model-based nonlinear differentiator. The proposed designs are implemented in hardware and the closed-loop system performance in the stabilization task is compared. Moreover, we show that the considered system cannot be partially linearized via a change of coordinates, and thus is not suitable for a recently reported class of nonlinear observers

Development of a Self-Stabilizing Robotic Chassis for Industry

Presented the description of the bipedal robotic chassis with the unique kinematic scheme which has the possibility to locomote in complicated multi-level environment. AnyWalker is equipped with the system of compensation of external impacts with motor-wheels which can self-stabilize the robotic system in 3 dimensions. Presented chassis suggests to have open software and hardware architecture in order to become the universal walking platform for service and industry robots

Bias Propagation and Estimation in Homogeneous Differentiators for a Class of Mechanical Systems

International audienceMotivated by non-anthropomorphic dynamic stabilization of a walking robot, we consider the bias propagation problem for a homogeneous nonlinear model-based differentiator applied to a reaction wheel pendulum with a biased position sensor. We show that the bias propagates through the velocity observer and compromises the vertical stabilization. To cancel the impact of the bias, we propose to augment the differentiator with a reduced-order bias observer. Local asymptotic stability of the augmented nonlinear observer is shown, where the observer gain can be tuned using matrix inequalities. Experimental results illustrate the applicability of the proposed solution

Development of a Self-Stabilizing Robotic Chassis for Industry

Presented the description of the bipedal robotic chassis with the unique kinematic scheme which has the possibility to locomote in complicated multi-level environment. AnyWalker is equipped with the system of compensation of external impacts with motor-wheels which can self-stabilize the robotic system in 3 dimensions. Presented chassis suggests to have open software and hardware architecture in order to become the universal walking platform for service and industry robots

Differentiator-based velocity observer with sensor bias estimation: an inverted pendulum case study

International audienceIn this paper we consider the problem of velocity estimation and stabilization for balancing an inverted pendulum equipped with a reaction wheel. A homogeneous differentiator is proposed for velocity estimation, and it is shown that a bias in sensor readings yields steady-state estimation error. The proposed observer is augmented with a reduced-order bias estimator and local asymptotic stability of the coupled observers is shown. The proposed solution is tested and compared with another approach on an experimental setup

Observer Design for an Inverted Pendulum with Biased Position Sensors

International audienceInverted pendulums can be considered as an approximation for the stabilization problem for legged robots. In this paper we design a linear observer for a reaction wheel inverted pendulum under biased angle measurements. The reaction wheel is a flywheel that allows the free spinning motor to apply the control torque on the pendulum. In this paper we consider the stabilization problem in the presence of a constant unknown bias in the pendulum angle measurements; this problem has important practical implications, allowing for less precise sensor placement as well as a closer approximation for the control of legged robots. This paper provides a theoretical and experimental basis for the estimation of the velocities and the bias in the system