NRI: Biologically-inspired, hybrid quadruped robot control

这个研究项目是关于为腿式机器人设计更好的腿。 当机器人需要在崎岖的地形上移动时，就像在灾区搜索受害者时一样，腿式机器人比轮式或履带式机器人更具优势。 他们可以更容易地穿越这些地形，例如，踩在倒下的横梁和砖块上。 然而，腿式机器人本质上更复杂。 它们有更多的关节，更难控制。 该项目的目标是利用大自然的想法来克服其中的一些困难。 四足动物的形状和顺应性增加了它们在小跑或飞奔时的被动稳定性。 这些想法将被整合到一个四足机器人中，使其运动能力更加强大。 从自然界复制的一个主要问题是动物适应性地改变其关节和腿的顺应性的能力。 这是该项目的主要目标。除了研究目的外，该项目还包括教育部分，涉及研究生和本科生，以及推广到中学。在这个项目中采取的方法将简化四足机器人的控制，通过使用定向柔性腿被动稳定机器人在动态步态，如小跑。 刚度和关节平衡位置的主动控制将允许自适应参数变化以改变地形、步态和机器人变化（例如承载负载）。 该系统将采用混合控制器，在步态期间使用被动、欠驱动腿，但主动改变被动特性。 机器人的稳定性是通过机器人身体的俯仰和侧倾来衡量的。 自适应控制器将通过改变关节刚度、平衡角和每个关节的位置来最小化期望俯仰和滚转的误差。

This research project is about designing better legs for legged robots. When a robot needs to move across rough terrain, as would be the case when searching for victims in a disaster area, legged robots have advantages over wheeled or tracked robots. They can traverse such terrain more easily, for example, stepping over fallen beams and bricks. However, legged robots are inherently more complex. They have many more joints and are more difficult to control. The goal of the project is to use ideas from nature to overcome some of these difficulties. The shape and compliance of four-legged animals adds to their stability passively when they trot or gallop. These ideas will be incorporated into a four-legged robot, making its locomotion abilities more robust. A major issue to duplicate from nature is the animal's ability to adaptively change the compliance of their joints and legs. This is a primary objective of this project. In addition to the research objectives, this project also includes educational components involving graduate and undergraduate students as well as outreach to secondary schools.The approach taken in this project will simplify the control of quadruped robots by the use of directionally compliant legs to passively stabilize the robot under dynamic gaits such as trotting. Active control of the stiffness and joint equilibrium positions will allow for adaptive parameter changes to changing terrain, gaits, and robot variation (carry a load for example). The system will employ a hybrid controller using passive, under-actuated legs during gaits, but actively changing the passive characteristics. Stability of the robot is measured by the pitch and roll of the robot body. The adaptive controller will minimize errors in the desired pitch and roll by changing the joint stiffness, equilibrium angles and positions of each joint.