Armada, M. A.

Martinoli, Alcherio

Selaya, J.

Infoscience - École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne

08101 . 96 15: 24 "0"8717050 LA.L (CSIC) ~OO2l007 ROBJP: A sonwARE PACKAGE FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF THE REQUIRED DEGREES OF FREEDOM FOR A BIPED ROBOT ARMADA, M. A., MARTTNOLl, A., SELAYA, J. InslilUlo de AUlOmatica Indusrrial (CSIC)Carretera de Camporreal, Km. 0,200 La Poveda £-28500 Arganda del Rey, Madrid. Spain. Absrracl: There is a real need for machines that can replace humans in hazardous occupations. Since most work sites have been designed for human workers, any machine which is to perfonn the same tasks as humans must have the same dexterity. This article pre3ents a software package which pennits the observation and analysis of the galt employed by human beings. The minimum number of degrees of freedom which are necessary for achieving the human agility is detennined from a theoretical point of view. Later, a brief description of the software tool is presented, and finally, the results of experimentation are shown. Keywords: Robotics, mobile robots, simulation, stability, agile control, walking. 1. INTRODUCTION 2. HOW MANY DEGREES OF FREEDOM ARE NECESSARY TO EMULATE TIrE ABILITY OF A As it is well·known, the optimum number of degrees HUMAN BEING? of freedom of a biped robot (Sias, Zheng, 1990), is still an open point, since it depends on several One of the primary motivations for designing a biped considerations, i. e., the final use of the biped. robot is to perform tasks in environments that are too dangerous for human beings. To be a satisfactory A biped robot is a potential solution to the need for substitute for a human being, the robot must be able locomotion in constrained spaces; however, to be of to enter a region original!>, designed for human practical use, a biped most be able to stand statically access and peTform tasks that are not already (Sias, Zhen~, 1987), while perfonns useful tasks. For automated and normally require the capability of a this reason, biped mbots have been built with as few person. In many of the previous studies of biped as four degy-ecs offreedom per leg. robots, the emphasis was usually focused on locomotion and practical industrial applications are The aim of this paper is to present a tool for rarely considered. In the author's opinion, to be determining the minimum number of degrees of useful from a practical viewpoint, 11 biped robot freedom that are required for achieving both should serve, at least, as a mobile platform. Thus, a simplicity and ..gftimum agility. The proposed tool is practical biped robot should have: a WINDows application called ROBJ?, which has been developed in the lnslituto de Automatica -Static standing. Industrial (CSI.C.), and its main purpose is to -Dynamic walking capability. animate the trajectories obtained by means of an external device. a motion analyzer, that acquires data As it was mentioned before, fOUT degrees of freedom using senSors located at specific joint positions. per les (abduction and flexion in l.><;>th hip ami ankle) 08/01 '96 15:24 '5'8717050 I . A. I . (CS Ie) ~ 003/007 ate enough to obtain a functional biped robot that is, to maintain tile centre of gravity inside the stability margin (on uneven surfaces or in the case of external forces tending to topple the biped). However, additional degrees of freedom are required if the biped robot has to achieve a human-like agility. For example, jf the biped robot needs to change walking direction. an additional vertical axis at tile hip joint, orthogonal to the otiler two hip axes is required. On the other hand, sudden discontinuities or steps would pose a significant handicap. A knee joint solves a number of problems associated with traversing uneven surfaces or climbing stairs, which imply extremely awkward shifts of the centre of gravity with four-link legs. The human ankle is basically a hinge joint with one degree of freedom. However, several tarsal bones combine to produce a joint between the leg and the foot that has tilrce degrees of freedom. Two of these ones are required so that the leg can move in different directions to maintain equilibrium when the hip joints move. In addition, a third degree of freedom with a vertical axis is available to be used to rotate the foot. This extra degree of freedom is unnecessary for most gaits used for locomotion, but could be quite valuable when the biped is in unusual attitudes or on irregular surfaces such as when climbing. And finally, in this brief overview, let us consider the foot. The human foot is composed of 22 bones that makes it quite flexible and pennit several degrees of freedom. The flexion of the foot pennit' a longer stride with less severe movemcnts of the torso to maintain the centre of gravity over the supporting foot. Hence, a fmal degree of freedom at the ball of the foot would permit a longer and faster gait. In short, it can be concluded that a biped robot with eight degrees of freedom per leg could have a gait approximating that of the human being. 3. ROBIP DESCRIPTION A general block diagram of ROBJP is shown in Figure 1. The software package has three main tasks: 1.-Interface between the simulation/animation blocks included in it and: • other simulation and/or numeric calculation packages, such as MATLAB™ with SIMULfNK™. • HW equipment, i. e. a motion analyser. 2.-The calculation of the 3D kinematics and dynamics of a detennined mechanical system. 3.-The animation on the screen of the time evolution of a coordinate vector. Mo~AnIlyl<r MATLAB..Jh ~--_.) Biped Robot SIMUUNKSELSPOT ",I Il:lIc ..Iiol: : all (ds-.lll,,'[il :illN ;ilIl: ~ :, INTI:RfAct It :1 ~~ ­ ~ ~~ ;m. ... SfMUlJ.TION ANIMATION Fig, 1. General sketch of ROBIP The dotted lines in Fig, I means future implementation, that is, once a biped robot will be available, there will be a real-time link to be able to monitor the real motion on the screen, and vice­versa, to command the robot to move in a determined way (prescribed synergy). Until now, as a fust step, data transfers are made by means of files instead of real-time links. 3. I Interface with the user As ir has been mentioned before. this tool is a WINDOWSTM application, so it!! interface is based on different windows, buttons, and menuS to make it user friendly. The main menu consists of four sub-menues: -Die -/J.iped -Simulation -Anima/ion The purpose in this paper is to experimentally detennirle the optimum number of degrees of freedom to achieve a human £ait. So, only the Animation block will be used, leaVing the Simulation for further applications. The data-file source is the SELSPOT 11 System Copra-electronic motion analysis system) which uses active light sources for determining actual positions of Qbjl:;cts in spill;e. 08/01 '96 15:25 '5'8717050 I.A.I.(CSIC) I4J 004/007 E.ile All the three kinds of data files that can be loaded by the ROBlP package have the common structure that is shown in Fig. 2, where T'/ is the sample frequency used for the acquisition of the 3D coordinates of the relevant points selected for tracking the corresponding trajectories. HEADER with [frames nJUoiots rnllrl J 3D coordioates of joiDts X.Y Zl X~Y2~ ••• xmYmzm IT 2T frames nT Fig. 2. Data file structure Thus, when the user defines the Animation Structure and the Biped Structure some initial values will be loaded, such as the number of joinu. and the minimwn and maximwn values of coordinates, for the auto-scale mode. !1iped Once the file has been loaded, the user must define the biped ~·tructtJ.re, that is. the joints and the corresponding links to be animated. The dialogue window created to specify this information is shown in Figure 3. ;jnimat;c)R First of all, the animation parameters must be defined (Figure 4): -Axis Scale -Animation Mode, which can be Continuos or Step by Step (so the animation procedure is controlled by the user). •Projec/ion: the animation can be made in the sagittal,fron/al or horizontal plane. When the Biped Structure and the Animation Parameters has been set, the initial frame of the animation is displayed. Fig. 5 illustrates this fact, showing the obtained structure when using 8 sensors located at different joints of legs, trunk, and arm. Fig. 3. Biped Structure FigA. Animation parameters. 08/01 '96 15: 27 '6'8717050 I.A.I.(CSIC) ~ 005/007 .---i-··... --"';---~_ .. , , ,;~:::" "<·4 I. •• • I ., •• I'", . ., ·0' - -;- - • -;- - ­• • • I • • • I • I :L'a: ; :. : ;1: : ;"3: :J :... ~ __ .:. __ l ... :. __ Fig. 5. Initial Frame 4. PRACTICAL APPLICATION Experimental measuring tests have been made by means of the SELSPOT II System. Seven Light Emitlmg Diodes were allocated in different ways to obtain the position of the joints in several situations. 4.1 Walking mode In Figure 6 it is shown a stage of the motion, which is projected on the saginal plane. • " - - - - - -., - - - _ .... - T - - - - - - - r· _ ••. - -, - - - - - ~., I '. .. . .,.:·:, :. .:. :, j' --,. -. r-'---T""I'~ :'OO ----: · " '.: ~_ •• --. _~-----. .. - - ~- _. 4 •• _: · " .,· .. " , , " · " .,.. '· "· " .,· ., " · . "· ., : .... - ~ __ • _ 4 ... '; _ _ _ _ _ _ • _ ..... - _~ : , " " · .."· , . , , .: : :(j : : • • , I , •· . . . . .· . . . . . , , , . , , ' . , ;··-·--,;--·-··-i·· .--~ ... ,.--~-.. --­· . ' . .l : : ~ : ;"J : : : ; : i : : :l1o; : ,... -- -- .: - - -- - ~ .; . ~ - - -- - : - - ..... - ~ '- --- - - - ­fig. 6. Walking mode. 0: Tip of the toes 3: Knee I: Ball of the foot 4: Hip 2: Ankle 5: Shoulder This configuration corresponds to the double! support phase, just before the swing phQj'e of the leg. It can be observed that the flexjon of the foot plays an important role, since it permits a stance with both feet on the ground during it longer stride while the centre of gravity is shifted to the forward foot. This postural balance can be noticed in the XY-projection (figure 7). .------ --.,--.i[]' .--- .. --:. --'" --f--- .. ··~·jr -.. -;- ~ .. - - - . . ':" . - .. _.. ~.~. , -] '" .., -, : -- , .. ..... -_: .. _--- - _­•••• '.' - •••• - 'f' •••••••••• - ••• ',-'" _A, _10'··· -',. .... , . . ..[.1..... --: ...... [ . ! ... - ... ....~~t: : : . ... ; , . . ··_--· ... ·_··_··l· .. ••·· -:... .-- , .. - : , .. -----,. _, -- . ---- .. ,·:: .. :::~ ..::· .. :·-- ..--"--·tiJ: . .. --; ,> --, .. -- . --. .. -- --. -- -- .. . .J·......·r---- .. J.. __ . . ..... .... __ ........ __ .. , ....'.... __ .., . Fig. 7. Walking mode. XV-projection. 0: Left ankle 3: Right Knee 1: Right ankle 5: Chest 2: Left knee 6: Head When the right leg is in the swing phase and the left one is on the ground, the head is near the latter.. to keep the centre of gravity on the stability margin, and shifts towards the forward leg as this one advances. ____~08/01 '96 15:27 '6'8717050	 I.A.I.(CSIC) flI 006/007 4,2 Skipping mode	 Here it can be noticed the relevant roll of the knee and ankle joints in the initial and final stages: in theIn this case, a small hop is animated, and three first one to obtain the impulse which is necessary to different st.!ges of the motion arc shown in Figure 8. lift the body, and in the last stage to absorb the shock •• - - .. " • - ••,- - - - r .... - ~.- - - - ... - ... - ,. - - - ., .......· ,. "· ., "· , ,. • ,I .,,. ,	 , '· .. ...· . . . , .  . I·: ::!.·1~ ••• :1 •••1::.I:••1•• :.! • I ,.. . . , , I • • • ... .. .. -:. - - - ~ --..;- - - - ~ - - ~ . : - . --..- - - - ,.. - ..... -.-, - - - - - - .. ,. - -­...	 .,..:'5 : - .....:-- ----'_ ..... :.: ..•. ( ... ::1'. : ::. . . ,. . ,J:.•• _.. __: .~ __ II: ~ - - - -:-'" ... - -;- - - - r - .... -.- - - ­··-Ir: : '.os i · , .:- ...... - ~ - ---: - - -. .. -- -;- - - ­· . . 4 , ' .· . . ..'" ... - - ... - - - -.- .........·" . . .. fig. 8. Skipping mode caused by the contact with the ground. 4.3 Climbing Stairs mode In stair climbing, frontal plane motions remain ahnost the same as in nonnal walking mode (Golden, Zheng, 1990). Consequently, sagittal plane motions are ofmost importance for this study. Several experiments were realized dealing with stair climbing. From the results of this experiments, one of them is shown in Figure 9. it is possible to break down the climbing motion into a series of stable phases: Phase 1: Starting from a standing position (both feel are on the floor (leveled), fig. 9·s), this phase consists on shifting the centre of gravity over the left foot and rising the right foot by positive rotation of the righl hip and negative rotation of the right knee, as can be seen in Figure 9·b. Phase 2: While maintaining the centre of gravity over the left foot, the right foot is positioned over the next step by continued positive rotation of the right hip as weB as negative rotation of the right knee (Fig. 9-<:). Phase 3: The right foot is placed firmly on the step, while the centre of gravity is shifted to the right foot by rotating the torso forward over both hips, as well as to the right (Fig_ 9-d). Phase 4: The right leg is extended by a positive rotation of the right knee and a negative rotation of the right hip, thus maintaining the centre of gravity over the right foot while raising it in the vertical plane (Fig- 9-e). From this, it can be illustrated three significant aspects of stair climbing: the first aspect is that a much greater range of motion is required than during level walking, especially in the knee joint. The second aspect is that stair climbing entails an ascending displacement of the centre of gravity. And the third aspect is that a static gait, rather than dynamic, is employed (the vertical projection of the centre of gravity always lies in the <;nclosed grQund area ofthe supporting foot or feet). 08/01 . 96 15: 28 '6'8717050 I.A.I.(CSIC) ~ 007/007 ';"'lr'~T"" .. - - ~. •• ·7- ­ - ~ .•• : - . : ::: : OS: : : -] ..; .... , ... --­ ... . . ";J: : Fig 9-b Fig.9-c --·t---.-··r·'-.---. .~'... ~ . : -] ..... S: : .- ­ - ,~- - ,. ­_ --.. - . : :: ../~, Fig 9-d Fig. 9. Stair Climbing Gait (right leg). 5. CONCL.USIONS In this paper a software package for human gait analy is has been presented. A tool of this characteristics is a good help to determine the number of degrees of freedom required to emulate the human agility under different operationaJ conditions. The role of the different joints nas been clearly tested, corroborating the conclusions obtained by theoretical aJlaJysis. 6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wants to acknowledge the received support from the Consejo Superior de investigaciones Cientificas for the fellowship granted to Mr. Martinoll (Ern·Zurich), aod from the ComWlidad de Madrid • Consejerill de Educaci6n y Cultura (SELSPOT II motion analizer fWlding). REFERENCES Sias, F. R. Jr., Zheng Y. F., (1990).How many degrees of fTeedom docs a biped need? In : Proc JROS '90, IEEE Int. Workshop on In! Robots and Systems '90, vol J, pp. 297-302 Sias, F. R. Jr., Zheng Y, F.(l987). Static stability 19thproblems in biped robot design. In : Proc. Southeastern Symposium on System Theory, Clemson, USA" pp 432·435. Golden, J. A, Zheng. Y. F. (1990). Gait synthesis for the SD·2 biped robot to climb stairs. In : International Journal of Robotics and Automation, vol.5. 

Robip: A Software Package for the Experimental Evaluation of the Required Degrees of Freedom for a Biped Robot

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Robip: A Software Package for the Experimental Evaluation of the Required Degrees of Freedom for a Biped Robot

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