Implementation of omnidirectional crawl for a quadruped robot

As a reptile animal crawls in a cluttered environment, so a quadruped robot should be able to crawl on an irregular ground profile with its static stability by adopting the straightgoing and standstill-turning free gaits. The generalized and explicit formulations for the automatic generation of straight-going gaits and various standstill-turning gaits are presented in this paper. The maximized stride for the straight-going gait and the maximum turning angle for the turning gait of a quadruped robot named TITAN-VIII in a gait cycle are discussed by considering the robot's mechanism constraints and the irregularities of the ground profile. The control algorithm, including control of the joint positions of the robot, is described to implement the desired walking path of the quadruped robot. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through experimental result.     

Path planning for a quadruped robot: an artificial field approach

In this paper, we consider the problem of planning a feasible path for a quadruped walking robot in an environment of obstacles. In conventional path-planning problems, the main focus is merely collision avoidance with obstacles since a wheeled robot is involved. However, in the case of a legged robot, both collision avoidance and crossing over obstacles must be taken into account in the process of path planning. Furthermore, the constraints of the gait should be considered to guarantee the feasibility of a planned path. To resolve this complicated problem in a systematic way, a new concept of an artificial thermal field is proposed. Specifically, with the assumption that a robot walks with a periodic crab gait, a robot and obstacles in a three-dimensional (3D) space are projected on a 2D plane. Next, the 2D obstacles are transformed into the configuration space of a quadruped robot. A feasible path is finally sought in an artificial thermal field which is constructed numerically on the discretized configuration space. To verify the efficacy of the proposed approach, three notable simulation results are provided.     

Prior notice method of robotic arm motion for suppressing a threat to a human

The ability to develop a gait with one or more legs missing is an important issue for multi-legged robots used in demining applications. Accordingly, this paper presents a three-legged gait under the assumption that one leg of a quadruped walking robot is missing. After outlining a posture classification scheme for three-legged walking, the kick-and-swing gait is proposed as a basic and reasonable gait for three-legged walking and analyzed using a simple dynamic model. Minimum energy gait planning and an active shock-absorbing method are also investigated. The validity of the proposed gait is shown based on experiments using the quadruped walking robot TITAN VIII.     

Generation of a continuous free gait for quadruped robot over rough terrains

Generating a robust gait is one of the most important factors to improve the adaptability of quadruped robots on rough terrains. This paper presents a new continuous free gait generation method for quadruped robots capable of walking on the rough terrain characterized by the uneven ground and forbidden areas. When walking with the proposed gait, the robot can effectively maintain its stability by using the Center of Gravity (COG) trajectory planning method. After analyzing the point cloud of rough terrain, the forbidden areas of the terrain can be obtained. Based on this analysis, an optimal foothold search strategy is presented to help quadruped robot to determine the optimum foothold for the swing foot automatically. In addition, the foot sequence determining method is proposed to improve the performance of robot. With the free gait proposed in this paper, quadruped robot can walk through the rough terrains automatically and successfully. The correctness and effectiveness of the proposed method is verified via simulations.     

Feasibility Study on Stability of Gait Patterns with Changeable Body Stiffness Using Pneumatic Actuators in a Quadruped Robot

An oscillator-type gait controller for a quadruped robot with antagonistic pairs of pneumatic actuators is proposed. By using the controller, a feasibility study on the stability of gait patterns with changeable body stiffness is reported. The periodic motions of the legs are generated and controlled by an oscillator network with state resetting. This type of controller has robustness in its gaits against variation in walking conditions or changes of environment. However, it sometimes loses robustness under conditions of actuation delay, decrease of actuator accuracy, etc. We investigated whether an oscillator-type controller with phase resetting is also effective under such conditions. The stability of locomotion also strongly depends on the mechanical properties of the body mechanism, especially the joint stiffness. In this report, the muscle tone of the robot on the pitching motion at the trunk is changeable by using the changeable elasticity of the pneumatic actuators. The stability of quadruped locomotion in walk and trot patterns with changeable body stiffness was evaluated with numerical simulations and hardware experiments.     

Steady Crawl Gait Generation Algorithm for Quadruped Robots

The capability of stable walking on irregular terrain is the primary advantage of legged robots over wheeled mobile robots. However, the traditional foothold selection-based gait generation algorithms are not suitable at some points for blind robots which cannot obtain the exact terrain information. A velocity-based gait generation algorithm with real-time adaptation rules which are necessary for steady walking is suggested. Particularly, we have developed a steady crawl gait with duty factor β = 0.75. The main feature of the suggested algorithm is that it is not based on foothold selection and it can be used for the walking of blind robots on more realistic irregular terrain. The adaptation rules are the translational velocity modification to satisfy the steady gait requirement and the swing period modification to avoid the kinematic limitation. The suggested gait generation algorithm has been implemented in a simple quadruped robot that has a total of eight actuated joints on the legs. Using PD controllers for each actuated joint for the trajectory following and the adaptation algorithm of gait parameters, the steady periodic crawl gait on irregular terrain has been demonstrated.     

Generation and Analyses of the Reinforced Wave Gait for a Mammal-Like Quadruped Robot

The statically stable gait control of a mammal-like quadruped robot that provides an adequate or stable manner of traversing over irregular terrain was addressed. The reinforced wave gait which integrates new parameters of the lateral offset and displacements of the center of gravity (COG) based on the profiles of standard wave gait was investigated. The continuous and discontinuous motion trajectory of a robot’s COG in the periodic reinforced wave gait could be realized. The longitudinal and lateral stability margins of a reinforced wave gait were formulated for the gait generation and control of a quadruped robot. Moreover, the effects of the lateral offset on the stability, velocity and the energy efficiency were studied in details. The reinforced wave gait with lateral sway motion adequately improved the stability, and two particular gait patterns that involve the lateral sway motion for a maximal velocity and maximum achievable stability were described. With consideration of a quadruped robot with asymmetric carrying loads on its body, a scheme that relates to the gait parameters of the displacement of a robot’s COG to avoid losing stability was proposed. The simulation and experimental results about the effects of lateral offset added in the reinforced wave gait on the minimum power consumption during a quadruped robot walking on a flat terrain indicated that the reinforced wave gait with a larger lateral offset would generate a better wave gait with a higher velocity and energy efficiency.     

Crab walking of quadruped robots with a locked joint failure

Fault tolerance is an important aspect in the development of control systems for multi-legged robots since a failure in a leg may lead to a severe loss of static stability of a gait. In this paper, an algorithm for tolerating a locked joint failure is described in gait planning for a quadruped robot with crab walking. A locked joint failure is one for which a joint cannot move and is locked in place. If a failed joint is locked, the workspace of the resulting leg is constrained, but legged robots have fault tolerance capability to continue walking maintaining static stability. A strategy for fault-tolerant gaits is described and, especially, a periodic gait is presented for crab walking of a quadruped. The leg sequence and the formula of the stride length are analytically driven based on gait study and robot kinematics. The adjustment procedure from a normal gait to the proposed fault-tolerant crab gait is shown to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed scheme.     

Translational Crawl and Path Tracking of a Quadruped Robot

Translational crawl and path tracking are presented for a quadruped robot, named TITAN‐VIII, to walk on rough ground. The generalized and explicit formulation is derived to generate the translational crawl gait in an arbitrary direction automatically, to control the joint positions, and to estimate the robot localization in a walking environment. Compared to conventional gaits, the proposed gait is characterized by a natural and continuous transition between any successive gait cycles, by a maximized stride of the robot in each gait cycle, and by different foot trajectories corresponding to the uneven terrain. Especially, the proposed approach enables the quadruped robot to track a reference path in a complex walking environment, based on dead‐reckoning localization for the robot. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through the experimental results. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Energy-optimal gait analysis of quadruped robots

It is important for walking robots such as quadruped robots to have an efficient gait. Since animals and insects are the basic models for most walking robots, their walking patterns are good examples. In this study, the walking energy consumption of a quadruped robot is analyzed and compared with natural animal gaits. Genetic algorithms have been applied to obtain the energy-optimal gait when the quadruped robot is walking with a set velocity. In this method, an individual in a population represents the walking pattern of the quadruped robot. The gait (individual) which consumes the least energy is considered to be the best gait (individual) in this study. The energy-optimal gait is analyzed at several walking velocities, since the amount of walking energy consumption changes if the walking velocity of the robot is changed. The results of this study can be used to decide what type of gait should be generated for a quadruped robot as its walking velocity changes. This work was presented, in part, at the Sixth International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Tokyo, Japan, January 15–17, 2001.     

Application of Genetic Algorithms for biped robot gait synthesis optimization during walking and going up-stairs

Selecting an appropriate gait can reduce consumed energy by a biped robot. In this paper, a Genetic Algorithm gait synthesis method is proposed, which generates the angle trajectories based on the minimum consumed energy and minimum torque change. The gait synthesis is considered for two cases: walking and going up-stairs. The proposed method can be applied for a wide range of step lengths and step times during walking; or step lengths, stair heights and step times for going up-stairs. The angle trajectories are generated without neglecting the stability of the biped robot. The angle trajectories can be generated for other tasks to be performed by the biped robot, like going down-stairs, overcoming obstacles, etc. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, the results for minimum consumed energy and minimum torque change are compared. A Radial Basis Function Neural Network is considered for the real-time application. Simulations are realized based upon the parameters of the 'Bonten-Maru I'humanoid robot, which is under development in our laboratory. The evaluation by simulations shows that the proposed method has a good performance.     

Gait optimization of step climbing for a hexapod robot

RHex-style hexapod robot is a type of legged robot which can perform multiple moving gaits according to different applications, due to its simple structure and strong mobility. However, traversing high obstacles has always been a big challenge for legged robots. In this paper, gait optimization of a hexapod robot is proposed for climbing steps at different heights, which even enables the robot to climb the step 3.9 times of the leg length. First, a previous step-climbing gait is optimized by adjusting body inclination when placing front legs on top of the step, which enables RHex with different sizes to perform the rising stage of the gait. Second, to improve the climbing heights, a novel quasi-static climbing gait is proposed by using the reversed claw-shape legs to reach the higher step. The nondeformable legs are used to raise the center of mass (COM) of the body by lifting the front and rear legs alternately so that the front legs can reach the top of the step, then the front and middle legs are lifted alternately to maneuver COM up onto the step. The simulations and dynamic analysis of climbing steps are utilized to verify the feasibility of the improved gait. Finally, the step-climbing experiments at different heights are performed with the optimized gaits to compare with the existing gaits. The results of simulations and experiments show the superiority of the proposed gaits due to climbing higher steps.     

Feedforward and Feedback Dynamic Trot Gait Control for Quadruped Walking Vehicle

To realize dynamically stable walking for a quadruped walking robot, the combination of the trajectory planning of the body and leg position (feedforward control) and the adaptive control using sensory information (feedback control) is indispensable. In this paper, we propose a new body trajectory, the 3D sway compensation trajectory, for a stable trot gait; we show that this trajectory has a lower energy consumption than the conventional sway trajectory that we have proposed. Then, for the adaptive attitude control method during the 2-leg supporting phase, we consider four methods, that is, a) rotation of body along the diagonal line between supporting feet, b) translation of body along the perpendicular line between supporting feet, c) vertical swing motion of recovering legs, and d) horizontal swing motion of recovering legs; we then describe how we verify the stabilization efficiency of each method through computer simulation, stabilization experimentation, and experimenting in walking on rough terrain using the quadruped walking robot, TITAN-VIII.     

How to optimize the slope walking motion by the quadruped walking robot

Reduction of the energy consumption is one of the most important problems to utilize quadruped walking robots for various works on rugged terrain. The authors have studied basic strategy to achieve high energy efficiency when the quadruped walking robot do the motion essentially requires positive power by the analysis of body rising motion. This paper discusses the energy efficiency of the slope walking motion by the quadruped walking robot. First, we investigate the walking posture in consideration of ideal actuator characteristics where the robot consumes few negative powers at each joint which causes the main energy loss of the walking robot. Then, we investigate optimal walking posture in consideration of DC motor characteristics by the full search of three gait parameters which define the crawl gait. Furthermore, we derive the optimal walking motion by the optimization of three gait parameters which are kept constant during one cycle gait and instantaneous parameters such as body velocity and supporting forces changed at each moment simultaneously.     

基于三维线性倒立摆的仿人机器人步态规划

为了实时调整仿人机器人的步态,提出一种仿人机器人的步态生成方法。把机器人运动简化为三维线性倒立摆运动模式,通过预先规划好的零力矩点(ZMP)轨迹,根据质心(CoM)和ZMP的关系,求出CoM轨迹;再将前向步态和侧向步态简化为七连杆结构和五连杆结构,利用三角定理求出各个关节的角度,结合ZMP方程讨论了行走过程中的稳定性。利用给定的条件进行了系统的仿真,并结合实际系统及其运行状况进行分析,验证了所提出规划方法的有效性。     

An aperiodic Z type spinning gait planning method for a quadruped walking robot

Spinning gaits are used for altering the direction of body in a narrow space. Previous studies reveal thatz type leg-lifting sequence is suitable for spinning motion. In this paper, we focus on anz type aperiodic spinning gait for a quadruped walking robot. We proposed a condition of support pattern suitable for the aperiodicz type spinning motion. Based on the condition, we proposed an aperiodicz type spinning gait planning method. It is shown that spinning capability can be independent of required stability margin. A simulation shows that good spinning capability and good terrain adaptability are obtained.     

Sensing and gait planning of quadruped walking and climbing robot for traversing in complex environment

In this paper, a general study on improving adaptability of quadruped walking and climbing robot in complex environment is presented. First, a sensing system composed of range and gyroscope sensors in a novel arrangement is developed. By combining the sensing signals and the internal state of the robot, the surface geometry of the environment is sufficiently reconstructed in real-time. Secondly, a planning algorithm for the robot to overcome the reconstructed environment is conducted. Based on the reshaped surface, the planning algorithm not only provides the exact body trajectory and foot positions but also the adaptability of the robot in a specific environment. A method to improve the adaptability of the walking and climbing robot is also introduced. Thanks to the adherent ability of the robot, the center of gravity of the robot is allowed to move outside the support polygon to increase the reach-ability of the next swing leg. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed approach is verified by the performances of the experiments in complex environments using a quadruped walking and climbing robot named MRWALLSPECT IV.     

Kinematic Constraints on Fault-Tolerant Gaits for a Locked Joint Failure

Fault-tolerant gaits in legged locomotion are defined as gaits with which legged robots can continue their walking after a failure event has occurred to a leg of the robot. For planning an efficient fault-tolerant gait, kinematic constraints and remaining mobility of the failed leg should be closely examined with each other. This paper addresses the problem of kinematic constraints on fault-tolerant gaits. The considered failure is a locked joint failure which prevents a joint of a leg from moving and makes it locked in a known place. It is shown that for the existence of the conventional fault-tolerant gait for forward walking on even terrain, the configuration of the failed leg must be within a range of kinematic constraints. Then, for coping with failure situations where the existence condition is not satisfied, the conventional fault-tolerant gait is adopted by including the adjustment of the foot trajectory of the failed leg. The foot trajectory adjustment procedure is analytically derived to show that it can help the fault-tolerant gait avoid dead-lock resulting from the kinematic constraint. To demonstrate its effectiveness, the proposed method is applied to the fault-tolerant gait generation for a quadruped robot walking with the wave-crab gait before a locked joint failure.     

Construction of a Gait Adaptation Model in Human Split-Belt Treadmill Walking Using a Two-Dimensional Biped Robot

A number of studies have measured kinematics, dynamics and oxygen uptake while a person walks on a treadmill. In particular, during walking on a split-belt treadmill, in which the left and right belts have different speeds, remarkable differences in kinematics are observed between normal subjects and subjects with cerebellar disease. In order to construct a gait adaptation model of such human split-belt treadmill walking, we proposed a simple control model and developed a new two-dimensional biped robot walk on a split-belt treadmill. We combined the conventional limit-cycle-based control consisting of joint PD control, cyclic motion trajectory planning and a stepping reflex with a newly proposed adjustment of P-gain at the hip joint of the stance leg. The data obtained in experiments on the robot (normal subject model and cerebellum disease subject model) have highly similar ratios and patterns to data obtained in experiments on normal subjects and subjects with cerebellar disease carried out by Bastian et al. We also showed that the P-gain at the hip joint of the stance leg was the control parameter of adaptation for symmetric gaits in split-belt walking and that P-gain adjustment corresponded to muscle stiffness adjustment by the cerebellum. Consequently, we successfully proposed a gait adaptation model for human split-belt treadmill walking, and confirmed the validity of our hypotheses and the proposed model using the biped robot.     

Stroke Survivors' Gait Adaptations to a Powered Ankle–Foot Orthosis

Stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability in the US, and for many it causes loss of gait function. The purpose of this research is to examine stroke survivors' gait adaptations to training on the powered ankle–foot orthosis (PAFO). Of particular interest is the stroke survivors' ability to learn how to store and release energy properly while using the device. The PAFO utilizes robotic tendon technology and supports motion with a single degree of freedom — ankle rotation in the sagittal plane. This actuator comprises a motor and series spring. The user interacts with the output side of the spring while the robot controls the input side of the spring such that typical able-body ankle moments would be generated, assuming able-body ankle kinematics are seen at the output side of the spring. Three individuals post-stroke participated in a 3-week training protocol. Outcome measures (temporal, kinematic and kinetic) were derived from robot sensors and recorded for every step. These data are used to evaluate each stroke survivor's adaptations to robotic gait assistance. The robot was worn only on the paretic ankle. For validation of the kinematic results, motion capture data were collected on the third subject. All subjects showed increased cadence, ankle range of motion and power generation capabilities. Additionally, all subjects were able to achieve a larger power output than power input from the robot. Motion capture data collected from Subject 3 validated the robot sensor kinematic data on the affected side, but also demonstrated an unexpected gait adaptation on the unaffected ankle. Sensors on the gait-assisting robot provide large volumes of valuable information on how gait parameters change over time. We have developed key gait evaluation metrics based on the available robot sensor information that may be useful to future researchers. All subjects adapted their gait to the robotic assistance and many of their key metrics moved closer to typical able-body values. This suggests that each subject learned to utilize the assistive moments generated by the robot, despite having no predefined ankle trajectory input from the robot. The security of being harnessed on the treadmill led to more dramatic and favorable results.