NRI: Rethinking Multi-Legged Robots: Passive Terrain Adaptability through Underactuated Mechanisms and Exactly-Constrained Kinematics

NRI：重新思考多足机器人：通过欠驱动机构和精确约束运动学实现被动地形适应性

基本信息

批准号：
1637647
负责人：
Aaron Dollar
金额：
$ 71.82万
依托单位：
Yale University
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2016
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2016-10-01 至 2022-09-30
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1637647&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
NRI Rethinking Multi Legged Robots

项目摘要

Legged vehicles have long intrigued us with the promise of moving with animal-like agility, gracefully and swiftly going where wheeled vehicles cannot. Despite numerous successes, however, current legged robots are mostly unable to traverse rough terrain, and are mechanically complex, requiring elaborate hardware and control, and having short operation-times. Work on this project will investigate the development of multi-legged robots that utilize adaptive motors and transmissions, to reduce the complexity and cost, while also allowing the legs to adapt to rough terrain. These legged robot designs will be made freely available through OpenRobotHardware.org, and will be able to be easily and inexpensively fabricated with rapid prototyping techniques.The project takes a new approach to legged robots by proposing new architectures that reduce over-constraint in the closed kinematic chains with the ground by applying under-actuated mechanisms - equipping robots with legs that passively adapt to large variations in terrain roughness with minimal disturbance forces to the body. As a result of this kind of passive adaptability, the robot is able to find a stable footing on rough terrain without any sensing or planning: the legs simply fall into place. Furthermore, adaptability in the mechanism also enables the forces and torques applied by the legs to the body to be passively regulated so as to minimize disturbances that would tend to destabilize the vehicle or cause it to lose its heading. This ability will drastically simplify the control of legged robot systems, greatly increase power efficiency and their robustness to terrain variations, and decrease production and maintenance costs.

长期以来，腿部车辆一直以动物般的敏捷性移动，这使我们很感兴趣，它优雅而迅速地前往车辆无法进行。尽管取得了许多成功，但是当前的腿部机器人几乎无法穿越粗糙的地形，并且机械上很复杂，需要精心设计的硬件和控制，并且操作时间很短。该项目的工作将调查利用自适应电动机和传输的多腿机器人的开发，以降低复杂性和成本，同时还可以使腿适应崎rough的地形。这些腿部机器人的设计将通过openrobobothardware.org免费提供，并可以通过快速的原型制作技术轻松且便宜地制造出来。该项目通过提出新的体系结构来为腿部机器人提供新的方法，通过提出新的体系结构，从而通过在封闭的机械上施加宽敞的机制，从而使机器人在封闭的机械上施加较大的机械性能，以供不应求的机器人，以供不应求的机器人，以供不应求的机器人，以供不应求的是，在较大的机械上既有型号的机械界限最小的干扰力对身体。由于这种被动的适应性，机器人能够在崎terrain的地形上找到一个稳定的地面，而无需任何感应或计划：腿简单地落入到位。此外，该机制的适应性还使腿部施加到人体的力和扭矩可以被动调节，从而最大程度地减少会使车辆稳定或导致其损失的干扰。这种能力将大大简化对腿部机器人系统的控制，大大提高功率效率以及对地形变化的稳健性，并降低生产和维护成本。