Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ziqi Liu, Ce Zhang, Bo Jin, Shuo Zhai, Junkui Dong
Summary: This paper presents an efficient embedded controller for a hydraulic walking robot, along with related control strategies and algorithms. Experimental results show that the controller can effectively reduce joint tracking errors and standard deviations in force control.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2021)
Article
Robotics
Moju Zhao, Tomoki Anzai, Takuzumi Nishio
Summary: This paper introduces a novel air-ground quadruped robot called SPIDAR, which utilizes spherically vectorable rotors distributed in each link to achieve both walking motion and transformable flight. Firstly, a unique mechanical design for the quadruped robot enabling terrestrial and aerial locomotion is presented. Then, a modeling method for this hybrid robot platform is revealed, and an integrated control strategy for both walking and flying with joint motion is developed. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed hybrid quadruped robot is demonstrated by performing a seamless motion involving static walking and subsequent flight. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to achieve a quadruped robot with multimodal locomotion capability.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Zhengyang Li, Zhenjing Li, Lap Mou Tam, Qingsong Xu
Summary: This article introduces a versatile quadruped climbing robot (QCR) with multidegree-of-freedom legs and adhesive vacuum suckers. The robot is capable of climbing, omnidirectional locomotion, large obstacle overcoming, and manipulation. The kinematic and quasi-static climbing models have been derived and the robot's performance has been verified through experiments.
IEEE-ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS
(2023)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Yoon Haeng Lee, Young Hun Lee, Hyunyong Lee, Hansol Kang, Jun Hyuk Lee, Luong Tin Phan, Sungmoon Jin, Yong Bum Kim, Dong-Yeop Seok, Seung Yeon Lee, Hyungpil Moon, Ja Choon Koo, Hyouk Ryeol Choi
Summary: This article presents a force-controllable quadruped robot system with incorporated mandatory abilities of speed, efficiency, and mobility for providing real-world services. The design methodologies and principles employed to implement these requisite capabilities on a single robot platform are described, particularly focusing on the torque sensing method and the components of the torque-controllable actuator unit.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Young Kook Kim, Woojin Seol, Jihyuk Park
Summary: A quadruped robot, mimicking feline animals, was developed with a spinal joint optimized using Q-learning machine learning to achieve faster forward speed compared to not using the spinal joint. The robot implemented a bounding gait similar to the sinusoidal motion profile of actual feline animals.
JOURNAL OF BIONIC ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Yeunhee Kim, Yeonseo Lee, Youngsu Cha
Summary: The study introduces an origami pump actuator based pneumatic quadruped robot (OPARO) with a four-leg system controlled by two motors. The forelegs and hindlegs operate simultaneously using a tendon-driven system. Through experiments, the mobility performance and operating mechanism are evaluated, with a maximum velocity of 0.11 body length per second. Additionally, gait patterns and steering performance are analyzed, showing the system's adequacy for a quadruped robot without external air supply.
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Fikih Muhamad, Jung-Su Kim, Jae-Han Park
Summary: This paper presents a robust perception-based control policy to overcome noises in the robot's perception when crossing challenging terrains. The control policy can estimate states and reduce the effect of noises from both proprioceptive and exteroceptive observations, making it capable of handling a higher ratio of noise. The robustness of the control policy is validated through simulations and comparisons with recurrent networks.
Article
Robotics
Eric W. McClain, Ali Samare Filsoofi, Sanford Meek
Summary: A method for controlling and stabilizing a pacing quadruped robot using state feedback switching is proposed in this letter, which achieves stability in the lateral direction and results in a stable pacing gait.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Omid Mohseni, Aida Mohammadi Nejad Rashty, Andre Seyfarth, Koh Hosoda, Maziar Ahmad Sharbafi
Summary: To achieve the performance of biological locomotion in legged robots, it is necessary to integrate body design and control. Understanding the mechanics and control of human locomotion can help build efficient legged robots. Developing bioinspired robots can also enhance our understanding of human locomotion. This study presents a bioinspired robot with blended physical and virtual impedance control, taking inspiration from human neural control and musculoskeletal system for hopping.
JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT & ROBOTIC SYSTEMS
(2022)
Article
Robotics
Jichun Xiao, Lina Hao, Hongzhi Xu, Xu Zhang, Xing Li, Zhi Li
Summary: Payload capacity is crucial for climbing robots, and many legged robots prioritize foot design over payload capacity. This study proposes a novel adhesion foot structure utilizing micro-suction tape and a detachment mechanism to improve payload capacity of climbing robots.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Robotics
Guillaume Bellegarda, Auke Ijspeert
Summary: In this paper, a method for integrating central pattern generators (CPGs) into deep reinforcement learning (DRL) framework for robust and omnidirectional quadruped locomotion is presented. This approach also allows for exploration of neuroscience questions related to descending pathways, interoscillator couplings, and sensory feedback in gait generation.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Mechanical
Jason Gurney, Ali Samare Filsoofi, Eric McClain, Chris Bolejack, Mahtab Aboufazeli, V. John Mathews, Sanford Meek
Summary: This paper introduces UPed, a quadruped robot platform, for the study of passive, directional leg compliance. The platform uses under-actuated legs based on the bent-knee model, and adjustable knee angle and distal leg stiffness to change the leg compliance. Pneumatic pistons are employed as variable compliance elements to adjust the leg compliance during locomotion. Experimental validation demonstrates significant performance improvements by selecting appropriate values of compliance and knee angle, and the unique capability of exploring adjustable directional compliance and other parameters in robot legs on a physical robotic system. UPed has the potential to facilitate significant performance improvements of legged robots through in-depth studies on directional passive leg compliance.
JOURNAL OF MECHANISMS AND ROBOTICS-TRANSACTIONS OF THE ASME
(2023)
Article
Robotics
Yecheng Shao, Yongbin Jin, Xianwei Liu, Weiyan He, Hongtao Wang, Wei Yang
Summary: This article presents a novel framework for training a quadruped robot to perform various gaits. The robot is able to locomote according to the generated gaits and make transitions among them through the use of independent phases. Additionally, the control policy allows the robot to smoothly execute learned motor skills in natural environments.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Xu Chang, Hongxu Ma, Honglei An
Summary: This paper proposes a control method for quadruped robots when legs mass cannot be ignored or the robot carries heavy goods. The method solves ground reaction forces using a uniform force MPC controller and a PD compensator. Simulation results show that the method enables the robot to traverse uneven terrain carrying heavy objects.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONTROL AUTOMATION AND SYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Robotics
Davide Calzolari, Cosimo Della Santina, Alessandro M. Giordano, Annika Schmidt, Alin Albu-Schaeffer
Summary: Animals rely on the elasticity of their tendons and muscles to execute robust and efficient locomotion patterns. This work aims to replicate these capabilities in robotic systems by using a pitch dynamics decoupling spring potential and nonlinear modal theory. Simulations of an elastic quadruped demonstrate the proposed solution's ability to generate efficient locomotion patterns under non-ideal conditions.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Francesco Roscia, Andrea Cumerlotti, Andrea Del Prete, Claudio Semini, Michele Focchi
Summary: For legged robots, aerial motions are necessary when facing obstacles that cannot be overcome with standard locomotion gaits. This paper proposes an Orientation Control System (OCS), composed of rotating and actuated masses, to gain control authority on the robot's orientation during flight phase. The concept was tested using simulations on robot Solo12.
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Daniele Ludovico, Paolo Guardiani, Alessandro Pistone, Lorenzo De Mari Casareto Dal Verme, Darwin G. Caldwell, Carlo Canali
Summary: In recent years, with the expansion of the logistics sector, smart warehouses have emerged. Autonomous mobile robots play a key role in finding collision-free paths in real-time in their working environment. Model Predictive Control Algorithms combined with the A* algorithm show great potential in efficiently navigating collision avoidance problems. This paper proposes a Dual Forward-Backward Algorithm for solving a Model Predictive Control problem in a convex optimization framework, where the task is to drive a mobile robotic platform into a bi-dimensional semi-structured environment.
Article
Robotics
Carlo Rizzardo, Fei Chen, Darwin Caldwell
Summary: Reinforcement Learning has great potential for robotics, but its sample efficiency and resource requirements can be obstacles. One potential solution is using simulated environments, but the sim-to-real gap reduces real-world performance. This work proposes a sim-to-real technique that trains a Soft-Actor Critic agent with a decoupled feature extractor and a latent-space dynamics model to address this issue.
FRONTIERS IN ROBOTICS AND AI
(2023)
Article
Robotics
Angelo Bratta, Michele Focchi, Niraj Rathod, Claudio Semini
Summary: In this work, a novel optimization-based reference generator is proposed, which utilizes a linear inverted pendulum (LIP) model to compute reference trajectories for the center of mass, considering possible underactuation of gait. The obtained trajectories are used as references for the cost function of the nonlinear model predictive control (MPC), ensuring a guaranteed response time to reach a goal without the need to tune the weights of the cost terms. Footholds are corrected by using the optimized reference to drive the robot toward the goal. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated in simulations and experiments with the Aliengo robot in different scenarios.
Article
Robotics
Shamel Fahmi, Victor Barasuol, Domingo Esteban, Octavio Villarreal, Claudio Semini, Claudio Semini
Summary: This work presents a vision-based planning strategy, ViTAL, for legged robots that addresses the problem of reachable safe footholds. ViTAL separates locomotion planning into foothold selection and pose adaptation, considering skills of the robot and the terrain-awareness. Experimental results with HyQ and HyQReal quadruped robots demonstrate that ViTAL outperforms a baseline strategy in climbing various obstacles at different speeds and gaits.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ROBOTICS
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
P. Guadagna, M. Fernandes, F. Chen, A. Santamaria, T. Teng, T. Frioni, D. G. Caldwell, S. Poni, C. Semini, M. Gatti
Summary: Although mechanization has reduced labor requirements, selective operations like winter pruning still impact vineyard management costs. This study focuses on fine-tuning and testing deep neural networks for detecting pruning regions and segmenting grapevine organs. Results show the effectiveness of the networks in improving hi-tech solutions for autonomous winter pruning.
PRECISION AGRICULTURE
(2023)
Review
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Roberto Francesco Pitzalis, Daegeun Park, Darwin G. G. Caldwell, Giovanni Berselli, Jesus Ortiz
Summary: Despite the widespread use of exoskeletons, there has been little research on wrist exoskeletons. This paper discusses the challenges of implementing wrist exoskeletons for rehabilitation and industrial use, and highlights the importance of understanding the biomechanics and musculoskeletal disorders of the wrist in the design process. It categorizes the design requirements into six sections and explores different design architectures and technical challenges. The paper also summarizes current technologies and proposes future perspectives.
Article
Robotics
Abdelrahman Abdalla, Michele Focchi, Romeo Orsolino, Claudio Semini
Summary: This article presents a paradigm for designing feasible Center of Mass (CoM) and body trajectories efficiently. The improved feasible region guarantees dynamic balance and satisfaction of joint-torque and kinematic limits. An algorithm is introduced to compute the reachable region of the CoM and an efficient planning strategy is proposed. The capabilities of the improved feasible region and planning strategy are validated through simulations and experiments on two different robots.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ROBOTICS
(2023)
Article
Robotics
Francesco Roscia, Michele Focchi, Andrea Del Prete, Darwin G. Caldwell, Claudio Semini
Summary: In this letter, the authors propose an optimization-based reactive Landing Controller for torque-controlled quadruped robots in free-fall. The method utilizes an estimate of the Center of Mass horizontal velocity and a Variable Height Springy Inverted Pendulum model to continuously recompute the feet position for a successful landing in all directions.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Maria Koskinopoulou, Zhuoqi Cheng, Alperen Acemoglu, Darwin G. Caldwell, Leonardo S. Mattos
Summary: Intravenous Access (IVA) is a common invasive medical procedure with a high failure rate. Recent research and technological developments have focused on improving this process through the integration of different levels of autonomy in IVA devices.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MEDICAL ROBOTICS AND BIONICS
(2023)
