The research on legged robots attracted much attention both from the academia and industry. Legged robots are multi-input multi-output with multiple end-e ector systems. Therefore,the mechanical design and control fra...The research on legged robots attracted much attention both from the academia and industry. Legged robots are multi-input multi-output with multiple end-e ector systems. Therefore,the mechanical design and control framework are challenging issues. This paper reviews the development of type synthesis and behavior control on legged robots; introduces the hexapod robots developed in our research group based on the proposed type synthesis method. The control framework for legged robots includes data driven layer,robot behavior layer and robot execution layer. Each layer consists several components which are explained in details. Finally,various experiments were conducted on several hexapod robots. The summarization of the type synthesis and behavior control design constructed in this paper would provide a unified platform for communications and references for future advancement for legged robots.展开更多
Unmanned systems such as legged robots require fast-motion responses for operation in complex envi-ronments.These systems therefore require explosive actuators that can provide high peak speed or high peak torque at s...Unmanned systems such as legged robots require fast-motion responses for operation in complex envi-ronments.These systems therefore require explosive actuators that can provide high peak speed or high peak torque at specific moments during dynamic motion.Although hydraulic actuators can provide a large force,they are relatively inefficient,large,and heavy.Industrial electric actuators are incapable of providing instant high power.In addition,the constant reduction ratio of the reducer makes it difficult to eliminate the tradeoff between high speed and high torque in a given system.This study proposes an explosive electric actuator and an associated control method for legged robots.First,a high-power-density variable transmission is designed to enable continuous adjustment of the output speed to torque ratio.A heat-dissipating structure based on a composite phase-change material(PCM)is used.An integral torque control method is used to achieve periodic and controllable explosive power output.Jumping experiments are conducted with typical legged robots to verify the effectiveness of the proposed actuator and control method.Single-legged,quadruped,and humanoid robots jumped to heights of 1.5,0.8,and 0.5 m,respectively.These are the highest values reported to date for legged robots powered by electric actuators.展开更多
Adaptive locomotion in different types of surfaces is of critical importance for legged robots.The knowledge of various ground substrates,especially some geological properties,plays an essential role in ensuring the l...Adaptive locomotion in different types of surfaces is of critical importance for legged robots.The knowledge of various ground substrates,especially some geological properties,plays an essential role in ensuring the legged robots'safety.In this paper,the interaction between the robots and the environments is investigated through interaction dynamics with the closed-loop system model,the compliant contact model,and the friction model,which unveil the influence of environment's geological characteristics for legged robots'locomotion.The proposed method to classify substrates is based on the interaction dynamics and the sensory-motor coordination.The foot contact forces,joint position errors,and joint motor currents,which reflect body dynamics,are measured as the sensing variables.We train and classify the features extracted from the raw data with a multilevel weighted k-Nearest Neighbor(kNN) algorithm.According to the interaction dynamics,the strategy of adaptive walking is developed by adjusting the touchdown angles and foot trajectories while lifting up and dropping down the foot.Experiments are conducted on five different substrates with quadruped robot FROG-I.The comparison with other classification methods and adaptive walking between different substrates demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.展开更多
Terrain classification information is of great significance for legged robots to traverse various terrains.Therefore,this communication presents an online terrain classification framework for legged robots,utilizing t...Terrain classification information is of great significance for legged robots to traverse various terrains.Therefore,this communication presents an online terrain classification framework for legged robots,utilizing the acoustic signals produced during locomotion.The Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficient(MFCC)feature vectors are extracted from the acoustic data recorded by an on-board microphone.Then the Gaussian mixture models(GMMs)are used to classify the MFCC features into different terrain type categories.The proposed framework was validated on a quadruped robot.Overall,our investigations achieved a classification time-resolution of 1 s when the robot trotted over three kinds of terrains,thus recording a comprehensive success rate of 92.7%.展开更多
Heavy-duty legged robots have been regarded as one of the important developments in the field of legged robots because of their high payload-total mass ratio,terrain adaptability,and multitasking.The problems associat...Heavy-duty legged robots have been regarded as one of the important developments in the field of legged robots because of their high payload-total mass ratio,terrain adaptability,and multitasking.The problems associated with the development and use of heavy-duty legged robots have motivated researchers to conduct many important studies,covering topics related to the mechanical structure,force distribution,control strategy,energy efficiency,etc.Overall,heavy-duty legged robots have three main characteristics:greater body masses,larger body sizes,and higher payload-total mass ratios.Thus,various heavy-duty legged robots and their performances are reviewed here.This review presents the current developments with regard to heavy-duty legged robots.Also,the main characteristics of high-performance heavy-duty legged robots are determined and conclusions are drawn.Furthermore,the current research of key techniques of heavy-duty legged robots,including the mechanical structure,force distribution,control method,and power source,is described.To assess the transportation capacity of heavy-duty legged robots,performance evaluation parameters are proposed.Finally,problems that need further research are addressed.展开更多
This paper proposes a novel continuous footholds optimization method for legged robots to expand their walking ability on complex terrains.The algorithm can efficiently run onboard and online by using terrain percepti...This paper proposes a novel continuous footholds optimization method for legged robots to expand their walking ability on complex terrains.The algorithm can efficiently run onboard and online by using terrain perception information to protect the robot against slipping or tripping on the edge of obstacles,and to improve its stability and safety when walking on complex terrain.By relying on the depth camera installed on the robot and obtaining the terrain heightmap,the algorithm converts the discrete grid heightmap into a continuous costmap.Then,it constructs an optimization function combined with the robot’s state information to select the next footholds and generate the motion trajectory to control the robot’s locomotion.Compared with most existing footholds selection algorithms that rely on discrete enumeration search,as far as we know,the proposed algorithm is the first to use a continuous optimization method.We successfully implemented the algorithm on a hexapod robot,and verified its feasibility in a walking experiment on a complex terrain.展开更多
This paper presents an effective way to support motion planning of legged mobile robots—Inverted Modelling,based on the equivalent metamorphic mechanism concept.The difference from the previous research is that we he...This paper presents an effective way to support motion planning of legged mobile robots—Inverted Modelling,based on the equivalent metamorphic mechanism concept.The difference from the previous research is that we herein invert the equivalent parallel mechanism.Assuming the leg mechanisms are hybrid links,the body of robot being considered as fixed platform,and ground as moving platform.The motion performance is transformed and measured in the body frame.Terrain and joint limits are used as input parameters to the model,resulting in the representation which is independent of terrains and particular poses in Inverted Modelling.Hence,it can universally be applied to any kind of legged robots as global motion performance framework.Several performance measurements using Inverted Modelling are presented and used in motion performance evaluation.According to the requirements of actual work like motion continuity and stability,motion planning of legged robot can be achieved using different measurements on different terrains.Two cases studies present the simulations of quadruped and hexapod robots walking on rugged roads.The results verify the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed method.展开更多
The current gait planning for legged robots is mostly based on human presets,which cannot match the flexible characteristics of natural mammals.This paper proposes a gait optimization framework for hexapod robots call...The current gait planning for legged robots is mostly based on human presets,which cannot match the flexible characteristics of natural mammals.This paper proposes a gait optimization framework for hexapod robots called Smart Gait.Smart Gait contains three modules:swing leg trajectory optimization,gait period&duty optimization,and gait sequence optimization.The full dynamics of a single leg,and the centroid dynamics of the overall robot are considered in the respective modules.The Smart Gait not only helps the robot to decrease the energy consumption when in locomotion,mostly,it enables the hexapod robot to determine its gait pattern transitions based on its current state,instead of repeating the formalistic clock-set step cycles.Our Smart Gait framework allows the hexapod robot to behave nimbly as a living animal when in 3D movements for the first time.The Smart Gait framework combines offline and online optimizations without any fussy data-driven training procedures,and it can run efficiently on board in real-time after deployment.Various experiments are carried out on the hexapod robot LittleStrong.The results show that the energy consumption is reduced by 15.9%when in locomotion.Adaptive gait patterns can be generated spontaneously both in regular and challenge environments,and when facing external interferences.展开更多
The wheeled bipedal robots have great application potential in environments with a mixture of structured and unstructured terrain. However, wheeled bipedal robots have problems such as poor balance ability and low mov...The wheeled bipedal robots have great application potential in environments with a mixture of structured and unstructured terrain. However, wheeled bipedal robots have problems such as poor balance ability and low movement level on rough roads. In this paper, a novel and low-cost wheeled bipedal robot with an asymmetrical five-link mechanism is proposed, and the kinematics of the legs and the dynamics of the Wheeled Inverted Pendulum (WIP) are modeled. The primary balance controller of the wheeled bipedal robot is built based on the Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) and the compensation method of the virtual pitch angle adjusting the Center of Mass (CoM) position, then the whole-body hybrid torque-position control is established by combining attitude and leg controllers. The stability of the robot’s attitude control and motion is verified with simulations and prototype experiments, which confirm the robot’s ability to pass through complex terrain and resist external interference. The feasibility and reliability of the proposed control model are verified.展开更多
This paper presents a novel control approach for achieving robust posture control in legged locomotion,specifically for SLIP-like bipedal running and quadrupedal bounding with trunk stabilization.The approach is based...This paper presents a novel control approach for achieving robust posture control in legged locomotion,specifically for SLIP-like bipedal running and quadrupedal bounding with trunk stabilization.The approach is based on the virtual pendulum concept observed in human and animal locomotion experiments,which redirects ground reaction forces to a virtual support point called the Virtual Pivot Point(VPP)during the stance phase.Using the hybrid averaging theorem,we prove the upright posture stability of bipedal running with a fixed VPP position and propose a VPP angle feedback controller for online VPP adjustment to improve performance and convergence speed.Additionally,we present the first application of the VPP concept to quadrupedal posture control and design a VPP position feedback control law to enhance robustness in quadrupedal bounding.We evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed VPP-based controllers through various simulations,demonstrating their effectiveness in posture control of both bipedal running and quadrupedal bounding.The performance of the VPP-based control approach is further validated through experimental validation on a quadruped robot,SCIT Dog,for stable bounding motion generation at different forward speeds.展开更多
This paper proposes the Leg Dimensional Synergistic Optimization Strategy(LDSOS)for humanoid robotic legs based on mechanism decoupling and performance assignment.The proposed method addresses the interdependent effec...This paper proposes the Leg Dimensional Synergistic Optimization Strategy(LDSOS)for humanoid robotic legs based on mechanism decoupling and performance assignment.The proposed method addresses the interdependent effects of dimensional parameters on the local and whole mechanisms in the design of hybrid humanoid robotic legs.It sequentially optimizes the dimensional parameters of the local and whole mechanism,thereby balancing the motion performance requirements of both.Additionally,it considers the assignment of efficient performance resources between the Local Functional Workspace(LFW)and the Whole Available Workspace(WAW).To facilitate the modeling and optimization process,a local/whole Equivalent Configuration Framework(ECF)is introduced.By decoupling the hybrid mechanism into a whole mechanism and multiple local mechanisms,the ECF enhances the efficiency of design,modeling,and performance evaluation.Prototype experiments are conducted to validate the effectiveness of LDSOS.This research provides an effective configuration framework for humanoid robotic leg design,establishing a theoretical and practical foundation for future optimized designs of humanoid robotic legs and pioneering novel approaches to the design of complex hybrid humanoid robotic legs.展开更多
Human tracking is an important issue for intelligent robotic control and can be used in many scenarios, such as robotic services and human-robot cooperation. Most of current human-tracking methods are targeted for mob...Human tracking is an important issue for intelligent robotic control and can be used in many scenarios, such as robotic services and human-robot cooperation. Most of current human-tracking methods are targeted for mobile/tracked robots, but few of them can be used for legged robots. Two novel human-tracking strategies, view priority strategy and distance priority strategy, are proposed specially for legged robots, which enable them to track humans in various complex terrains. View priority strategy focuses on keeping humans in its view angle arrange with priority, while its counterpart, distance priority strategy, focuses on keeping human at a reasonable distance with priority. To evaluate these strategies, two indexes（average and minimum tracking capability） are defined. With the help of these indexes, the view priority strategy shows advantages compared with distance priority strategy. The optimization is done in terms of these indexes, which let the robot has maximum tracking capability. The simulation results show that the robot can track humans with different curves like square, circular, sine and screw paths. Two novel control strategies are proposed which specially concerning legged robot characteristics to solve human tracking problems more efficiently in rescue circumstances.展开更多
This paper presents the kinematic calibration of a novel six-legged walking machine tool comprising a six-legged mobile robot integrated with a parallel manipulator on the body.Each leg of the robot is a 2-universal-p...This paper presents the kinematic calibration of a novel six-legged walking machine tool comprising a six-legged mobile robot integrated with a parallel manipulator on the body.Each leg of the robot is a 2-universal-prismatic-spherical(UPS)and UP parallel mechanism,and the manipulator is a 6-PSU parallel mechanism.The error models of both subsystems are derived according to their inverse kinematics.The objective function for each kinematic limb is formulated as the inverse kinematic residual,i.e.,the deviation between the actual and computed joint coordinates.The hip center of each leg is first identified via sphere fitting,and the other kinematic parameters are identified by solving the objective function for each limb individually using the least-squares method.Thus,the kinematic parameters are partially decoupled,and the complexities of the error models are reduced.A calibration method is proposed for the legged robot to overcome the lack of a fixed base on the ground.A calibration experiment is conducted to validate the proposed method,where a laser tracker is used as the measurement equipment.The kinematic parameters of the entire robot are identified,and the motion accuracy of each leg and that of the manipulator are significantly improved after calibration.Validation experiments are performed to evaluate the positioning and trajectory errors of the six-legged walking machine tool.The results indicate that the kinematic calibration of the legs and manipulator improves not only the motion accuracy of each individual subsystem but also the cooperative motion accuracy among the subsystems.展开更多
The stable slope-walking ability of legged robot walking in any direction on slope is analysed. The contacting angle and leaving angle of leg to the ground are presented. A method to increase the slope-walking ability...The stable slope-walking ability of legged robot walking in any direction on slope is analysed. The contacting angle and leaving angle of leg to the ground are presented. A method to increase the slope-walking ability is proposed only by changing the contacting angle and leaving angle of the leg to the ground.展开更多
In order to strike a balance between achieving desired velocities and minimizing energy consumption,legged animals have the ability to adopt the appropriate gait pattern and seamlessly transition to another if needed....In order to strike a balance between achieving desired velocities and minimizing energy consumption,legged animals have the ability to adopt the appropriate gait pattern and seamlessly transition to another if needed.This ability makes them more versatile and efficient when traversing natural terrains,and more suitable for long treks.In the same way,it is meaningful and important for quadruped robots to master this ability.To achieve this goal,we propose an effective gait-heuristic reinforcement learning framework in which multiple gait locomotion and smooth gait transitions automatically emerge to reach target velocities while minimizing energy consumption.We incorporate a novel trajectory generator with explicit gait information as a memory mechanism into the deep reinforcement learning framework.This allows the quadruped robot to adopt reliable and distinct gait patterns while benefiting from a warm start provided by the trajectory generator.Furthermore,we investigate the key factors contributing to the emergence of multiple gait locomotion.We tested our framework on a closed-chain quadruped robot and demonstrated that the robot can change its gait patterns,such as standing,walking,and trotting,to adopt the most energy-efficient gait at a given speed.Lastly,we deploy our learned controller to a quadruped robot and demonstrate the energy efficiency and robustness of our method.展开更多
When a curling rock slides on an ice sheet with an initial rotation,a lateral movement occurs,which is known as the curling phenomenon.The force of friction between the curling rock and the ice sheet changes continual...When a curling rock slides on an ice sheet with an initial rotation,a lateral movement occurs,which is known as the curling phenomenon.The force of friction between the curling rock and the ice sheet changes continually with changes in the environment;thus,the sport of curling requires great skill and experience.The throwing of the curling rock is a great challenge in robot design and control,and existing curling robots usually adopt a combination scheme of a wheel chassis and gripper that differs significantly from human throwing movements.A hexapod curling robot that imitates human kicking,sliding,pushing,and curling rock rotating was designed and manufactured by our group,and completed a perfect show during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games.Smooth switching between the walking and throwing tasks is realized by the robot’s morphology transformation based on leg configuration switching.The robot’s controlling parameters,which include the kicking velocity v_(k),pushing velocity v_(p),orientation angle θc,and rotation velocityω,are determined by aiming and sliding models according to the estimated equivalent friction coefficientμ_(equ)and ratio e of the front and back frictions.The stable errors between the target and actual stopping points converge to 0.2 and 1.105 m in the simulations and experiments,respectively,and the error shown in the experiments is close to that of a well-trained wheelchair curling athlete.This robot holds promise for helping ice-makers rectify ice sheet friction or assisting in athlete training.展开更多
Each joint of a hydraulic-driven legged robot adopts a highly integrated hydraulic drive unit(HDU),which features a high power-weight ratio.However,most HDUs are throttling-valve-controlled cylinder systems,which exhi...Each joint of a hydraulic-driven legged robot adopts a highly integrated hydraulic drive unit(HDU),which features a high power-weight ratio.However,most HDUs are throttling-valve-controlled cylinder systems,which exhibit high energy losses.By contrast,pump control systems offer a high efficiency.Nevertheless,their response ability is unsatisfactory.To fully utilize the advantages of pump and valve control systems,in this study,a new type of pump-valve compound drive system(PCDS)is designed,which can not only effectively reduce the energy loss,but can also ensure the response speed and response accuracy of the HDUs in robot joints to satisfy the performance requirements of robots.Herein,considering the force control requirements of energy conservation,high precision,and fast response of the robot joint HDU,a nonlinear mathematical model of the PCDS force control system is first introduced.In addition,pressure-flow nonlinearity,friction nonlinearity,load complexity and variability,and other factors affecting the system are considered,and a novel force control method based on quantitative feedback theory(QFT)and a disturbance torque observer(DTO)is designed,which is denoted as QFT-DTOC herein.This method improves the control accuracy and robustness of the force control system,reduces the effect of the disturbance torque on the control performance of the servo motor,and improves the overall force control performance of the system.Finally,experimental verification is performed using the PCDS performance test platform.The experimental results and quantitative data show that the QFT-DTOC proposed herein can significantly improve the force control performance of the PCDS.The relevant force control method can be used as a bottom-control method for the hydraulic servo system to provide a foundation for implementing the top-level trajectory planning of the robot.展开更多
In curling competitions, the throwing strategy has a decisive influence on the outcome of the game. When robots are applied to the sport of curling, they first need to understand the various throwing strategies in cur...In curling competitions, the throwing strategy has a decisive influence on the outcome of the game. When robots are applied to the sport of curling, they first need to understand the various throwing strategies in curling competitions and then adjust their motion control parameters to achieve the corresponding strategic throws. However, current curling strategy research lacks mathematical analysis and descriptive methods for throwing strategies tailored to robots. Moreover, research on how robots can solve for corresponding throwing strategies is lacking. These limitations have restricted the application and development of curling robots in the sport. Here, the concepts of the curling stone’s hitting domain and hitting tree are introduced to analyze and describe the curling strategies for robots by constructing the curling hitting domain through a curling collision model and by building the hitting tree through operations such as combination, permutation, and pruning. Furthermore, based on the solution methods for hitting domains and hitting trees, a search solution method for the control parameters of robots is developed. The research findings are integrated into a curling robot auxiliary decision-making software. With the help of the auxiliary software, the curling robot achieves victory in competitions against humans. The research outcomes are of great importance for the application and development of curling robots and legged robots.展开更多
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.U1613208)
文摘The research on legged robots attracted much attention both from the academia and industry. Legged robots are multi-input multi-output with multiple end-e ector systems. Therefore,the mechanical design and control framework are challenging issues. This paper reviews the development of type synthesis and behavior control on legged robots; introduces the hexapod robots developed in our research group based on the proposed type synthesis method. The control framework for legged robots includes data driven layer,robot behavior layer and robot execution layer. Each layer consists several components which are explained in details. Finally,various experiments were conducted on several hexapod robots. The summarization of the type synthesis and behavior control design constructed in this paper would provide a unified platform for communications and references for future advancement for legged robots.
基金supported by the National Key Research Program of China (2018YFB1304500)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91748202 and 62073041)
文摘Unmanned systems such as legged robots require fast-motion responses for operation in complex envi-ronments.These systems therefore require explosive actuators that can provide high peak speed or high peak torque at specific moments during dynamic motion.Although hydraulic actuators can provide a large force,they are relatively inefficient,large,and heavy.Industrial electric actuators are incapable of providing instant high power.In addition,the constant reduction ratio of the reducer makes it difficult to eliminate the tradeoff between high speed and high torque in a given system.This study proposes an explosive electric actuator and an associated control method for legged robots.First,a high-power-density variable transmission is designed to enable continuous adjustment of the output speed to torque ratio.A heat-dissipating structure based on a composite phase-change material(PCM)is used.An integral torque control method is used to achieve periodic and controllable explosive power output.Jumping experiments are conducted with typical legged robots to verify the effectiveness of the proposed actuator and control method.Single-legged,quadruped,and humanoid robots jumped to heights of 1.5,0.8,and 0.5 m,respectively.These are the highest values reported to date for legged robots powered by electric actuators.
文摘Adaptive locomotion in different types of surfaces is of critical importance for legged robots.The knowledge of various ground substrates,especially some geological properties,plays an essential role in ensuring the legged robots'safety.In this paper,the interaction between the robots and the environments is investigated through interaction dynamics with the closed-loop system model,the compliant contact model,and the friction model,which unveil the influence of environment's geological characteristics for legged robots'locomotion.The proposed method to classify substrates is based on the interaction dynamics and the sensory-motor coordination.The foot contact forces,joint position errors,and joint motor currents,which reflect body dynamics,are measured as the sensing variables.We train and classify the features extracted from the raw data with a multilevel weighted k-Nearest Neighbor(kNN) algorithm.According to the interaction dynamics,the strategy of adaptive walking is developed by adjusting the touchdown angles and foot trajectories while lifting up and dropping down the foot.Experiments are conducted on five different substrates with quadruped robot FROG-I.The comparison with other classification methods and adaptive walking between different substrates demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(62003190)the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation(ZR201911040226)the Open Research Projects of Zhejiang Lab(2022NB0AB06).
文摘Terrain classification information is of great significance for legged robots to traverse various terrains.Therefore,this communication presents an online terrain classification framework for legged robots,utilizing the acoustic signals produced during locomotion.The Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficient(MFCC)feature vectors are extracted from the acoustic data recorded by an on-board microphone.Then the Gaussian mixture models(GMMs)are used to classify the MFCC features into different terrain type categories.The proposed framework was validated on a quadruped robot.Overall,our investigations achieved a classification time-resolution of 1 s when the robot trotted over three kinds of terrains,thus recording a comprehensive success rate of 92.7%.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China("973" Program)(Grant No.2013CB035502)the International Sci-ence and Technology Cooperation Project with Russia(Grant No.2010DFR70270)+2 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.51275106)the"111" Project(Grant No.B07018)the Key Laboratory Opening Funding of Aerospace Mechanism and Control(Grant No.HIT.KLOF.2010057)
文摘Heavy-duty legged robots have been regarded as one of the important developments in the field of legged robots because of their high payload-total mass ratio,terrain adaptability,and multitasking.The problems associated with the development and use of heavy-duty legged robots have motivated researchers to conduct many important studies,covering topics related to the mechanical structure,force distribution,control strategy,energy efficiency,etc.Overall,heavy-duty legged robots have three main characteristics:greater body masses,larger body sizes,and higher payload-total mass ratios.Thus,various heavy-duty legged robots and their performances are reviewed here.This review presents the current developments with regard to heavy-duty legged robots.Also,the main characteristics of high-performance heavy-duty legged robots are determined and conclusions are drawn.Furthermore,the current research of key techniques of heavy-duty legged robots,including the mechanical structure,force distribution,control method,and power source,is described.To assess the transportation capacity of heavy-duty legged robots,performance evaluation parameters are proposed.Finally,problems that need further research are addressed.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(Grant No.2021YFF0306202).
文摘This paper proposes a novel continuous footholds optimization method for legged robots to expand their walking ability on complex terrains.The algorithm can efficiently run onboard and online by using terrain perception information to protect the robot against slipping or tripping on the edge of obstacles,and to improve its stability and safety when walking on complex terrain.By relying on the depth camera installed on the robot and obtaining the terrain heightmap,the algorithm converts the discrete grid heightmap into a continuous costmap.Then,it constructs an optimization function combined with the robot’s state information to select the next footholds and generate the motion trajectory to control the robot’s locomotion.Compared with most existing footholds selection algorithms that rely on discrete enumeration search,as far as we know,the proposed algorithm is the first to use a continuous optimization method.We successfully implemented the algorithm on a hexapod robot,and verified its feasibility in a walking experiment on a complex terrain.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.51735009)。
文摘This paper presents an effective way to support motion planning of legged mobile robots—Inverted Modelling,based on the equivalent metamorphic mechanism concept.The difference from the previous research is that we herein invert the equivalent parallel mechanism.Assuming the leg mechanisms are hybrid links,the body of robot being considered as fixed platform,and ground as moving platform.The motion performance is transformed and measured in the body frame.Terrain and joint limits are used as input parameters to the model,resulting in the representation which is independent of terrains and particular poses in Inverted Modelling.Hence,it can universally be applied to any kind of legged robots as global motion performance framework.Several performance measurements using Inverted Modelling are presented and used in motion performance evaluation.According to the requirements of actual work like motion continuity and stability,motion planning of legged robot can be achieved using different measurements on different terrains.Two cases studies present the simulations of quadruped and hexapod robots walking on rugged roads.The results verify the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed method.
基金Supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China(Grant No.2021YFF0306202).
文摘The current gait planning for legged robots is mostly based on human presets,which cannot match the flexible characteristics of natural mammals.This paper proposes a gait optimization framework for hexapod robots called Smart Gait.Smart Gait contains three modules:swing leg trajectory optimization,gait period&duty optimization,and gait sequence optimization.The full dynamics of a single leg,and the centroid dynamics of the overall robot are considered in the respective modules.The Smart Gait not only helps the robot to decrease the energy consumption when in locomotion,mostly,it enables the hexapod robot to determine its gait pattern transitions based on its current state,instead of repeating the formalistic clock-set step cycles.Our Smart Gait framework allows the hexapod robot to behave nimbly as a living animal when in 3D movements for the first time.The Smart Gait framework combines offline and online optimizations without any fussy data-driven training procedures,and it can run efficiently on board in real-time after deployment.Various experiments are carried out on the hexapod robot LittleStrong.The results show that the energy consumption is reduced by 15.9%when in locomotion.Adaptive gait patterns can be generated spontaneously both in regular and challenge environments,and when facing external interferences.
基金supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundationof China under Grant(61801122)Natural Science Foundation of FujianProvince(2022J01542).
文摘The wheeled bipedal robots have great application potential in environments with a mixture of structured and unstructured terrain. However, wheeled bipedal robots have problems such as poor balance ability and low movement level on rough roads. In this paper, a novel and low-cost wheeled bipedal robot with an asymmetrical five-link mechanism is proposed, and the kinematics of the legs and the dynamics of the Wheeled Inverted Pendulum (WIP) are modeled. The primary balance controller of the wheeled bipedal robot is built based on the Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) and the compensation method of the virtual pitch angle adjusting the Center of Mass (CoM) position, then the whole-body hybrid torque-position control is established by combining attitude and leg controllers. The stability of the robot’s attitude control and motion is verified with simulations and prototype experiments, which confirm the robot’s ability to pass through complex terrain and resist external interference. The feasibility and reliability of the proposed control model are verified.
基金This work was supported by the Touyan Innovation Program of Heilongjiang Province.
文摘This paper presents a novel control approach for achieving robust posture control in legged locomotion,specifically for SLIP-like bipedal running and quadrupedal bounding with trunk stabilization.The approach is based on the virtual pendulum concept observed in human and animal locomotion experiments,which redirects ground reaction forces to a virtual support point called the Virtual Pivot Point(VPP)during the stance phase.Using the hybrid averaging theorem,we prove the upright posture stability of bipedal running with a fixed VPP position and propose a VPP angle feedback controller for online VPP adjustment to improve performance and convergence speed.Additionally,we present the first application of the VPP concept to quadrupedal posture control and design a VPP position feedback control law to enhance robustness in quadrupedal bounding.We evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed VPP-based controllers through various simulations,demonstrating their effectiveness in posture control of both bipedal running and quadrupedal bounding.The performance of the VPP-based control approach is further validated through experimental validation on a quadruped robot,SCIT Dog,for stable bounding motion generation at different forward speeds.
文摘This paper proposes the Leg Dimensional Synergistic Optimization Strategy(LDSOS)for humanoid robotic legs based on mechanism decoupling and performance assignment.The proposed method addresses the interdependent effects of dimensional parameters on the local and whole mechanisms in the design of hybrid humanoid robotic legs.It sequentially optimizes the dimensional parameters of the local and whole mechanism,thereby balancing the motion performance requirements of both.Additionally,it considers the assignment of efficient performance resources between the Local Functional Workspace(LFW)and the Whole Available Workspace(WAW).To facilitate the modeling and optimization process,a local/whole Equivalent Configuration Framework(ECF)is introduced.By decoupling the hybrid mechanism into a whole mechanism and multiple local mechanisms,the ECF enhances the efficiency of design,modeling,and performance evaluation.Prototype experiments are conducted to validate the effectiveness of LDSOS.This research provides an effective configuration framework for humanoid robotic leg design,establishing a theoretical and practical foundation for future optimized designs of humanoid robotic legs and pioneering novel approaches to the design of complex hybrid humanoid robotic legs.
基金Supported by National Basic Research Program of China(973 Program,Grant No.2013CB035501)
文摘Human tracking is an important issue for intelligent robotic control and can be used in many scenarios, such as robotic services and human-robot cooperation. Most of current human-tracking methods are targeted for mobile/tracked robots, but few of them can be used for legged robots. Two novel human-tracking strategies, view priority strategy and distance priority strategy, are proposed specially for legged robots, which enable them to track humans in various complex terrains. View priority strategy focuses on keeping humans in its view angle arrange with priority, while its counterpart, distance priority strategy, focuses on keeping human at a reasonable distance with priority. To evaluate these strategies, two indexes（average and minimum tracking capability） are defined. With the help of these indexes, the view priority strategy shows advantages compared with distance priority strategy. The optimization is done in terms of these indexes, which let the robot has maximum tracking capability. The simulation results show that the robot can track humans with different curves like square, circular, sine and screw paths. Two novel control strategies are proposed which specially concerning legged robot characteristics to solve human tracking problems more efficiently in rescue circumstances.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.U1613208)National Key Research and Development Plan of China(Grant No.2017YFE0112200)European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Skodowska-Curie Grant Agreement(Grant No.734575).
文摘This paper presents the kinematic calibration of a novel six-legged walking machine tool comprising a six-legged mobile robot integrated with a parallel manipulator on the body.Each leg of the robot is a 2-universal-prismatic-spherical(UPS)and UP parallel mechanism,and the manipulator is a 6-PSU parallel mechanism.The error models of both subsystems are derived according to their inverse kinematics.The objective function for each kinematic limb is formulated as the inverse kinematic residual,i.e.,the deviation between the actual and computed joint coordinates.The hip center of each leg is first identified via sphere fitting,and the other kinematic parameters are identified by solving the objective function for each limb individually using the least-squares method.Thus,the kinematic parameters are partially decoupled,and the complexities of the error models are reduced.A calibration method is proposed for the legged robot to overcome the lack of a fixed base on the ground.A calibration experiment is conducted to validate the proposed method,where a laser tracker is used as the measurement equipment.The kinematic parameters of the entire robot are identified,and the motion accuracy of each leg and that of the manipulator are significantly improved after calibration.Validation experiments are performed to evaluate the positioning and trajectory errors of the six-legged walking machine tool.The results indicate that the kinematic calibration of the legs and manipulator improves not only the motion accuracy of each individual subsystem but also the cooperative motion accuracy among the subsystems.
文摘The stable slope-walking ability of legged robot walking in any direction on slope is analysed. The contacting angle and leaving angle of leg to the ground are presented. A method to increase the slope-walking ability is proposed only by changing the contacting angle and leaving angle of the leg to the ground.
文摘In order to strike a balance between achieving desired velocities and minimizing energy consumption,legged animals have the ability to adopt the appropriate gait pattern and seamlessly transition to another if needed.This ability makes them more versatile and efficient when traversing natural terrains,and more suitable for long treks.In the same way,it is meaningful and important for quadruped robots to master this ability.To achieve this goal,we propose an effective gait-heuristic reinforcement learning framework in which multiple gait locomotion and smooth gait transitions automatically emerge to reach target velocities while minimizing energy consumption.We incorporate a novel trajectory generator with explicit gait information as a memory mechanism into the deep reinforcement learning framework.This allows the quadruped robot to adopt reliable and distinct gait patterns while benefiting from a warm start provided by the trajectory generator.Furthermore,we investigate the key factors contributing to the emergence of multiple gait locomotion.We tested our framework on a closed-chain quadruped robot and demonstrated that the robot can change its gait patterns,such as standing,walking,and trotting,to adopt the most energy-efficient gait at a given speed.Lastly,we deploy our learned controller to a quadruped robot and demonstrate the energy efficiency and robustness of our method.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(92248303).
文摘When a curling rock slides on an ice sheet with an initial rotation,a lateral movement occurs,which is known as the curling phenomenon.The force of friction between the curling rock and the ice sheet changes continually with changes in the environment;thus,the sport of curling requires great skill and experience.The throwing of the curling rock is a great challenge in robot design and control,and existing curling robots usually adopt a combination scheme of a wheel chassis and gripper that differs significantly from human throwing movements.A hexapod curling robot that imitates human kicking,sliding,pushing,and curling rock rotating was designed and manufactured by our group,and completed a perfect show during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games.Smooth switching between the walking and throwing tasks is realized by the robot’s morphology transformation based on leg configuration switching.The robot’s controlling parameters,which include the kicking velocity v_(k),pushing velocity v_(p),orientation angle θc,and rotation velocityω,are determined by aiming and sliding models according to the estimated equivalent friction coefficientμ_(equ)and ratio e of the front and back frictions.The stable errors between the target and actual stopping points converge to 0.2 and 1.105 m in the simulations and experiments,respectively,and the error shown in the experiments is close to that of a well-trained wheelchair curling athlete.This robot holds promise for helping ice-makers rectify ice sheet friction or assisting in athlete training.
基金Supported by National Excellent Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.52122503)Hebei Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.E2022203002)+2 种基金The Yanzhao’s Young Scientist Project of China(Grant No.E2023203258)Science Research Project of Hebei Education Department of China(Grant No.BJK2022060)Hebei Provincial Graduate Innovation Funding Project of China(Grant No.CXZZSS2022129).
文摘Each joint of a hydraulic-driven legged robot adopts a highly integrated hydraulic drive unit(HDU),which features a high power-weight ratio.However,most HDUs are throttling-valve-controlled cylinder systems,which exhibit high energy losses.By contrast,pump control systems offer a high efficiency.Nevertheless,their response ability is unsatisfactory.To fully utilize the advantages of pump and valve control systems,in this study,a new type of pump-valve compound drive system(PCDS)is designed,which can not only effectively reduce the energy loss,but can also ensure the response speed and response accuracy of the HDUs in robot joints to satisfy the performance requirements of robots.Herein,considering the force control requirements of energy conservation,high precision,and fast response of the robot joint HDU,a nonlinear mathematical model of the PCDS force control system is first introduced.In addition,pressure-flow nonlinearity,friction nonlinearity,load complexity and variability,and other factors affecting the system are considered,and a novel force control method based on quantitative feedback theory(QFT)and a disturbance torque observer(DTO)is designed,which is denoted as QFT-DTOC herein.This method improves the control accuracy and robustness of the force control system,reduces the effect of the disturbance torque on the control performance of the servo motor,and improves the overall force control performance of the system.Finally,experimental verification is performed using the PCDS performance test platform.The experimental results and quantitative data show that the QFT-DTOC proposed herein can significantly improve the force control performance of the PCDS.The relevant force control method can be used as a bottom-control method for the hydraulic servo system to provide a foundation for implementing the top-level trajectory planning of the robot.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.92248303).
文摘In curling competitions, the throwing strategy has a decisive influence on the outcome of the game. When robots are applied to the sport of curling, they first need to understand the various throwing strategies in curling competitions and then adjust their motion control parameters to achieve the corresponding strategic throws. However, current curling strategy research lacks mathematical analysis and descriptive methods for throwing strategies tailored to robots. Moreover, research on how robots can solve for corresponding throwing strategies is lacking. These limitations have restricted the application and development of curling robots in the sport. Here, the concepts of the curling stone’s hitting domain and hitting tree are introduced to analyze and describe the curling strategies for robots by constructing the curling hitting domain through a curling collision model and by building the hitting tree through operations such as combination, permutation, and pruning. Furthermore, based on the solution methods for hitting domains and hitting trees, a search solution method for the control parameters of robots is developed. The research findings are integrated into a curling robot auxiliary decision-making software. With the help of the auxiliary software, the curling robot achieves victory in competitions against humans. The research outcomes are of great importance for the application and development of curling robots and legged robots.
