Related papers: Robust Bipedal Locomotion: Leveraging Saltation Ma…
Most legged robots are built with leg structures from serially mounted links and actuators and are controlled through complex controllers and sensor feedback. In comparison, animals developed multi-segment legs, mechanical coupling between…
Quadrupedal robots excel in mobility, navigating complex terrains with agility. However, their complex control systems present challenges that are still far from being fully addressed. In this paper, we introduce the use of Sample-Based…
This work presents an extended framework for learning-based bipedal locomotion that incorporates a heuristic step-planning strategy guided by desired torso velocity tracking. The framework enables precise interaction between a humanoid…
Bipedal robots promise the ability to traverse rough terrain quickly and efficiently, and indeed, humanoid robots can now use strong ankles and careful foot placement to traverse discontinuous terrain. However, more agile underactuated…
The remarkable athletic intelligence displayed by humans in complex dynamic movements such as dancing and gymnastics suggests that the balance mechanism in biological beings is decoupled from specific movement patterns. This decoupling…
In the fields of robotics and biomechanics, the integration of elastic elements such as springs and tendons in legged systems has long been recognized for enabling energy-efficient locomotion. Yet, a significant challenge persists:…
In legged locomotion, the relationship between different gait behaviors and energy consumption must consider the full-body dynamics and the robot control as a whole, which cannot be captured by simple models. This work studies the robot…
For humans, fast, efficient walking over flat ground represents the vast majority of locomotion that an individual experiences on a daily basis, and for an effective, real-world humanoid robot the same will likely be the case. In this work,…
Recent advancements in legged locomotion research have made legged robots a preferred choice for navigating challenging terrains when compared to their wheeled counterparts. This paper presents a novel locomotion policy, trained using Deep…
Most locomotion methods for humanoid robots focus on leg-based gaits, yet natural bipeds frequently rely on hands, knees, and elbows to establish additional contacts for stability and support in complex environments. This paper introduces…
We present the design and experimental results of the first 1-DOF, hip-actuated bipedal robot. While passive dynamic walking is simple by nature, many existing bipeds inspired by this form of walking are complex in control, mechanical…
The ability to realize nonlinear controllers with formal guarantees on dynamic robotic systems has the potential to enable more complex robotic behaviors -- yet, realizing these controllers is often practically challenging. To address this…
In order for a humanoid robot to perform loco-manipulation such as moving an object while walking, it is necessary to account for sustained or alternating external forces other than ground-feet reaction, resulting from humanoid-object…
Hybrid dynamical systems, which include continuous flow and discrete mode switching, can model robotics tasks like legged robot locomotion. Model-based methods usually depend on predefined gaits, while model-free approaches lack explicit…
This paper presents an optimization-based motion planning methodology for snake robots operating in constrained environments. By using a reduced-order model, the proposed approach simplifies the planning process, enabling the optimizer to…
Humanoid robots are made to resemble humans but their locomotion abilities are far from ours in terms of agility and versatility. When humans walk on complex terrains, or face external disturbances, they combine a set of strategies,…
During the development of wearable exoskeletons, evaluations involving human subjects pose inherent safety risks. Therefore, systematic testing is often conducted using robots that emulate human motion. However, reproducing human movements…
In this work, we demonstrate robust walking in the bipedal robot Digit on uneven terrains by just learning a single linear policy. In particular, we propose a new control pipeline, wherein the high-level trajectory modulator shapes the…
Accurate control of a humanoid robot's global position (i.e., its three-dimensional position in the world) is critical to the reliable execution of high-risk tasks such as avoiding collision with pedestrians in a crowded environment. This…
Inertia-dominated mechanical systems can achieve net displacement by 1) periodically changing their shape (known as kinematic gait) and 2) adjusting their inertia distribution to utilize the existing nonzero net momentum (known as momentum…