仿人预测控制在双足机器人步行控制中的应用

基于零力矩点(ZMP)的预测控制是目前双足机器人步行控制中最先进的方法,但是预测控制需要比较精确的预测模型,在环境扰动导致模型失配时,预测控制的性能下降较快。为了解决这个问题,利用仿人智能控制对环境误差具有较强抑制的特点改进预测控制。探讨了在步行控制中引入仿人智能控制的必要性和仿人智能控制改进预测控制的可行性,并设计了仿人预测控制器。最后通过仿真实验验证了新的控制器对双足机器人步行控制的有效性。     

Stability analysis and time-varying walking control for an under-actuated planar biped robot

This paper presents two walking controllers for a planar biped robot with unactuated point feet. The control is based on the tracking of reference motions expressed as a function of time. First, the reference motions are adapted at each step in order to create a hybrid zero dynamic (HZD) system. Next, the stability of the walking gait under closed-loop control is evaluated with the linearization of the restricted Poincaré map of the HZD. When the controlled outputs are selected to be the actuated coordinates, most periodic walking gaits for this robot are unstable, that is, the eigenvalues of the linearized Poincaré map (ELPM) is larger than one. Therefore, two control strategies are explored to produce stable walking. The first strategy uses an event-based feedback controller to modify the ELPM and the second one is based on the choice of controlled outputs. The stability analysis show that, for the same robot and for the same reference trajectory, the stability of the walking (or ELPM) can be modified by some pertinent choices of controlled outputs. Moreover, by studying some walking characteristics of many stable cases, a necessary condition for stable walking is proposed. It is that the height of swing foot is nearly zero at the desired moment of impact. Based on this condition, the duration of the step is almost constant in presence of initial error, so a method for choosing controlled outputs for the second controller is given. By using this method, two stable domains for the controlled outputs selection are obtained.     

Stability and control of dynamic walking for a five-link planar biped robot with feet

During dynamic walking of biped robots, the underactuated rotating degree of freedom （DOF） emerges between the support foot and the ground, which makes the biped model hybrid and dimension-variant. This paper addresses the asymptotic orbit stability for dimension-variant hybrid systems （DVHS）. Based on the generalized Poincare map, the stability criterion for DVHS is also presented, and the result is then used to study dynamic walking for a five-link planar biped robot with feet. Time-invariant gait planning and nonlinear control strategy for dynamic walking with fiat feet is also introduced. Simulation results indicate that an asymptotically stable limit cycle of dynamic walking is achieved by the proposed method.     

Efference copies in neural control of dynamic biped walking

In the early 1950s, von Holst and Mittelstaedt proposed that motor commands copied within the central nervous system (efference copy) help to distinguish ‘reafference’ activity (afference activity due to self-generated motion) from ‘exafference’ activity (afference activity due to external stimulus). In addition, an efference copy can be also used to compare it with the actual sensory feedback in order to suppress self-generated sensations. Based on these biological findings, we conduct here two experimental studies on our biped “RunBot” where such principles together with neural forward models are applied to RunBot’s dynamic locomotion control. The main purpose of this article is to present the modular design of RunBot’s control architecture and discuss how the inherent dynamic properties of the different modules lead to the required signal processing. We believe that the experimental studies pursued here will sharpen our understanding of how the efference copies influence dynamic locomotion control to the benefit of modern neural control strategies in robots.     

Neuro-fuzzy gait synthesis with reinforcement learning for a biped walking robot

 A reinforcement learning-based neuro-fuzzy gait synthesizer, which is based on the GARIC (Generalized Approximate Reasoning for Intelligent Control) architecture, is proposed for the problem of biped dynamic balance. We modify the GARIC architecture to enable it to generate the trunk trajectory in both sagittal and frontal plane. The proposed gait synthesizer is trained by reinforcement learning that uses a multi-valued scalar signal to evaluate the degrees of failure or success for the biped locomotion by means of the ZMP (Zero Moment Point). It can form the initial dynamic balancing gait from linguistic rules, which are obtained from human intuitive balancing knowledge and biomechanics studies, and accumulate dynamic balancing knowledge through reinforcement learning, and thus constantly improve its gait during walking. The feasibility of the proposed method is verified through a 5-link biped robot simulation.     

Balance control of a biped robot using camera image of reference object

This paper presents a new balance control scheme for a biped robot. Instead of using dynamic sensors to measure the pose of a biped robot, this paper uses only the visual information of a specific reference object in the workspace. The zero moment point (ZMP) of the biped robot can be calculated from the robot’s pose, which is measured from the reference object image acquired by a CCD camera on the robot’s head. For balance control of the biped robot a servo controller uses an error between the reference ZMP and the current ZMP, estimated by Kalman filter. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm has been proven by the experiments performed on both flat and uneven floors with unknown thin obstacles. Recommended by Editorial Board member Dong Hwan Kim under the direction of Editor Jae-Bok Song. This work was supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by the Korean Government (MOEHRD). This research was supported by the MKE(The Ministry of Knowledge Economy), Korea, under the ITRC (Information Technology Research Center) support program supervised by the IITA(Institute for Information Technology Advancement) (IITA-2008-C1090-0803-0006). Sangbum Park received the B.S. and M.S. degrees from Electronic Engineering of Soongsil University, Seoul, Korea, in 2004 and 2006 respectively. He has been with School of Electronic Engineering, Soongsil University since 2006, where he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. His current research interests include biped walking robot, robotics vision. Youngjoon Han received the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electronic Engineering from Soongsil University, Seoul, Korea, in 1996, 1998, and 2003, respectively. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the School of Electornic Engineering at Soongsil University. His research interests include robot vision system, and visual servo control. Hernsoo Hahn received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electronic Engineering at Soongsil University and Younsei University, Korea in 1982 and 1983 respectively. He received the Ph.D. degree in Computer Engineering from University of Southern California in 1991, and became an Assistant Professor at the School Electroncis Engneering in Soongsil University in 1992. Currently, he is a Professor. His research interests include application of vision sensors to mobile robots and measurement systems.     

移动可伸缩三维倒立摆模型的双足机器人步态控制策略

双足机器人的步态控制策略是保证双足稳定行走的重要条件之一.结合人在行走时ZMP平稳移动的特性,建立了一种移动可伸缩三维倒立摆模型;在约束平面内分析ZMP与COG的运动关系,将ZMP和COG分别定为快变因子和慢变因子,提出了移动可伸缩三维倒立摆模型的双足机器人步态控制策略;最后通过Matlab/ADAMS进行了步态控制仿真研究.仿真结果表明双足机器人可以稳定地行走,验证了该步态控制策略的可行性.     

Development and motion control of a biped walking robot based on passive walking theory

This research aims to develop the biped walking robot that can walk on the horizontal ground and improve walking efficiency by utilizing the theory of the passive walking robot, namely the pendulum principle. For that, two motors were installed on the hip of the robot to generate the control torques to perform a walking motion. The computer simulations with dynamic model were carried out to investigate the walking capability of the system. Experimental robot was developed considering the calculated results. The proportional control law was used in walking experiment. The robot can walk on the horizontal ground with the proposed method.     

Development of minimalist bipedal walking robot with flexible ankle and split-mass balancing systems

This paper presents a novel design of minimalist bipedal walking robot with flexible ankle and split-mass balancing systems.The proposed approach implements a novel strategy to achieve stable bipedal walk by decoupling the walking motion control from the sideway balancing control.This strategy allows the walking controller to execute the walking task independently while the sideway balancing controller continuously maintains the balance of the robot.The hip-mass carry approach and selected stages of walk implemented in the control strategy can minimize the efect of major hip mass of the robot on the stability of its walk.In addition,the developed smooth joint trajectory planning eliminates the impacts of feet during the landing.In this paper,the new design of mechanism for locomotion systems and balancing systems are introduced.An additional degree of freedom introduced at the ankle joint increases the sensitivity of the system and response time to the sideway disturbances.The efectiveness of the proposed strategy is experimentally tested on a bipedal robot prototype.The experimental results provide evidence that the proposed strategy is feasible and advantageous.     

Passive dynamic turning in 3D biped locomotion: an extension to passive dynamic walking

Passive dynamic walking usually refers to a kind of walking where a biped walker is able to walk downhill, without any actuation or control, just due to the gravity. Although most of works done in this regard have concentrated on passive walking along a straight line, in this paper we extend this concept to a more general case of locomotion, i.e. turning or walking along curved path. We call the novel extension passive turning, and categorize it to two types of finite and infinite. We showed that the finite type is still applicable on a typical downhill or ramp, while the infinite type is only practical on a specific surface profile that we call it helical ramp. Furthermore, several stability and parameter analysis are also conducted to evaluate more aspects of this notion. We highlighted that surprisingly, the passive straight walking is actually a special case of passive turning, just with infinite radius of turn and less asymptotical stability. It should be noted that the present study is performed using a model of an arc-foot three-dimensional (3D) compass gait walker.     

Biped walking on level ground with torso using only one actuator

It is well known that a biped robot needs actuators to walk stably on level ground. Till now, a biped robot with torso has needed at least two actuators to achieve this. Would it be possible for this kind of robot to walk on level ground with only one actuator？ This paper responds in the affirmative and proposes a simple control strategy for a planar biped robot with torso. In this control method, there is only one low gain proportional-derivative （PD） controller between the torso and the stance leg, while the swing leg remains totally free. The PD controller utilizes states of both the torso （angle and angular velocity） and the stance leg. The numerical simulations show that, by adopting this controller, a planar biped robot with torso can walk stably on level ground, and that the robot can walk with a wide range of speeds and high energy efficiency by changing the control parameters. Four period-one gaits, one of which is stable while the other three are unstable, are found by simulations. According to the literature surveyed, we are the first to have a torso only driven biped robot walk stably on level ground.     

A stable block model predictive control with variable implementation horizon

In this paper, we present a stable model predictive control method for discrete-time nonlinear systems. The standard MPC scheme is modified to incorporate (1) a block implementation scheme where a sub-string of the optimized input sequence is applied instead of a single value; (2) an additional constraint which guarantees that a Lyapunov function will decrease over time; (3) a variable implementation window that facilitates the stability constraint enforcement. Stability of the closed-loop system with the proposed algorithm is established. Examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the control scheme. The impacts of several key design parameters on the overall performance are also analyzed and discussed.     

Design improvements and control of a hybrid walking robot

In this paper design improvements and control algorithms are presented for a 2-DOF (Degree-Of-Freedom) hybrid leg-wheel walking machine. A prototype of a low-cost robot, which is capable of straight walking and steering with only two actuators, has been designed and built at LARM: Laboratory of Robotics and Mechatronics in Cassino. A control system has been developed in order to control the robot’s operation and to improve the prototype’s behavior. The designed control system and simulation results have been reported to show the operation of the prototype.     

双足机器人稳定步行模式预测控制实现方法的研究

针对现有的预测控制生成步行模式方法中忽略了参数间关系和参数取值范围的问题进行探讨.预测控制通过控制质心运动生成步行模式以实现ZMP目标轨迹跟踪,根据预测控制器模型研究参数间的关系,并通过极点分析讨论其取值范围,提出关键参数在容许取值范围内,可以保证系统的稳定性,并生成满足稳定步行的质心运动.通过仿真实验分析了在存在扰动情况下,关键参数取适当值,能够生成稳定的步行模式.     

助行机器人导航与远程监护系统的设计与实现

针对助行机器人在室外未知环境中的导航需求,分析了不同导航方式的优缺点,设计并实现基于全球定位系统(GPS)的机器人定位导航系统.详细地描述了室外环境地图的创建过程和地图精度的控制.为了提高定位的精度,利用地图匹配修正GPS定位误差,同时融合机器人实时速度数据,得到最终的机器人位置.在机器人定位的基础上,实现助行机器人的...     

Walking and steering control for a 3D biped robot considering ground contact and stability

This paper presents a stable walking control method for a 3D bipedal robot with 14 joint actuators. The overall control law consists of a ZMP (zero moment point) controller, a swing ankle rotation controller and a partial joint angles controller. The ZMP controller guarantees that the stance foot remains in flat contact with the ground. The swing ankle rotation controller ensures a flat foot impact at the end of the swinging phase. Each of these controllers creates 2 constraints on joint accelerations. As a consequence, the partial joint angles controller is implemented to track only 10 independent outputs. These outputs are defined as a linear combination of the 14 joint angles. The most important question addressed in this paper is how this linear combination can be defined in order to ensure walking stability. The stability of the walking gait under closed loop control is evaluated with the linearization of the restricted Poincare map of the hybrid zero dynamics. As a result, the robot can achieve an asymptotically stable and periodic walking along a straight line. Finally, another feedback controller is supplemented to adjust the walking direction of the robot and some examples of the robot steered to walk along different paths with mild curvature are given.     

机械手臂的多模型预测控制

针对机械手臂的非线性特点,提出了基于隶属度函数的多模型预测控制方法。该方法首先根据机械手臂的特点,选择合适的调度变量,将机械手臂的工作空间划分为若干个工作子空间,在每个子空间内的平衡点处对机械手臂进行线性化处理,得到相应的线性子模型,从而得到机械手臂的多模型表示;其次针对每个线性子模型设计局部预测控制器,使其在相应的子空间内达到控制要求;最后选择梯形隶属度函数与局部预测控制器进行加权求和,获得全局多模型预测控制器,以对机械手臂进行控制。仿真结果表明,当机械手臂的工作条件在大范围内变化时,全局多模型预测控制器的控制性能远优于常规PD控制器,达到了预期的控制目的。     

Position/torque hybrid control of a rigid,high-gear ratio quadruped robot

In this study, we introduce position/torque hybrid control for a newly designed rigid and high-gear ratio quadruped robot. The Experimental results indicated that the use of this control strategy allows the quadruped robot to maintain its stability while walking, and foot contact can be stabilized with only knee torque control and other joints are position controlled, without contact force feedback. Additionally, we suggested a smooth pattern connection method within or from preview control to the center of mass natural dynamics, and vice versa. We validated the proposed control strategies by conducting experiments.