Soap-bubble Optimization of Gaits
Optimization and Control
2016-10-27 v2 Robotics
Dynamical Systems
Abstract
In this paper, we present a geometric variational algorithm for optimizing the gaits of kinematic locomoting systems. The dynamics of this algorithm are analogous to the physics of a soap bubble, with the system's Lie bracket supplying an "inflation pressure" that is balanced by a "surface tension" term derived from a Riemannian metric on the system's shape space. We demonstrate this optimizer on a variety of system geometries (including Purcell's swimmer) and for optimization criteria that include maximizing displacement and efficiency of motion for both translation and turning motions.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1609.02620,
title = {Soap-bubble Optimization of Gaits},
author = {Suresh Ramasamy and Ross L. Hatton},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1609.02620},
year = {2016}
}
Comments
Accepted for the Proceedings of the 55th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, December 2016