Related papers: Gait Optimization for Legged Systems Through Mixed…
Autonomously performing tasks often requires robots to plan high-level discrete actions and continuous low-level motions to realize them. Previous TAMP algorithms have focused mainly on computational performance, completeness, or optimality…
Practical bipedal robot locomotion needs to be both energy efficient and robust to variability and uncertainty. In this paper, we build upon recent works in trajectory optimization for robot locomotion with two primary goals. First, we wish…
Robotic automation is a key technology that increases the efficiency and flexibility of manufacturing processes. However, one of the challenges in deploying robots in novel environments is finding the optimal base pose for the robot, which…
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…
We exploit the complementary strengths of vision and proprioception to develop a point-goal navigation system for legged robots, called VP-Nav. Legged systems are capable of traversing more complex terrain than wheeled robots, but to fully…
This paper presents a data-driven strategy to streamline the deployment of model-based controllers in legged robotic hardware platforms. Our approach leverages a model-free safe learning algorithm to automate the tuning of control gains,…
Efficient trajectory optimization is essential for avoiding collisions in unstructured environments, but it remains challenging to have both speed and quality in the solutions. One reason is that second-order optimality requires calculating…
Compensating for slip and skid is crucial for mobile robots navigating outdoor terrains. In these challenging environments, slipping and skidding introduce uncertainties into trajectory tracking systems, potentially compromising the safety…
To enable safe and efficient use of multi-robot systems in everyday life, a robust and fast method for coordinating their actions must be developed. In this paper, we present a distributed task allocation and scheduling algorithm for…
The complexity of a legged robot's environment or task can inform how specialised its gait must be to ensure success. Evolving specialised robotic gaits demands many evaluations - acceptable for computer simulations, but not for physical…
The ability to generate robust walking gaits on bipedal robots is key to their successful realization on hardware. To this end, this work extends the method of Hybrid Zero Dynamics (HZD) -- which traditionally only accounts for locomotive…
Multi-robot collaborative transportation is a critical capability that has attracted significant attention over recent years. To reliably transport a kinematically constrained payload, a team of robots must closely collaborate and…
In legged logomotion, online trajectory optimization techniques generally depend on heuristic-based contact planners in order to have low computation times and achieve high replanning frequencies. In this work, we propose ContactNet, a fast…
Many theoretical and experimental studies have used heuristic methods to investigate the dynamic behaviour of the passive coupling of adjacent structures. However, few papers have used optimization techniques with guaranteed convergence in…
This paper addresses the problem of coordination of a fleet of mobile robots - the problem of finding an optimal set of collision-free trajectories for individual robots in the fleet. Many approaches have been introduced during the last…
In this paper, we present a receding-horizon, sampling-based planner capable of reasoning over multimodal policy distributions. By using the cross-entropy method to optimize a multimodal policy under a common cost function, our approach…
In this paper we study the problem of designing periodic orbits for a special class of hybrid systems, namely mechanical systems with underactuated continuous dynamics and impulse events. We approach the problem by means of optimal control.…
Reduced-order-model-based optimal control techniques for humanoid locomotion struggle to adapt step duration and placement simultaneously in dynamic walking gaits due to their reliance on fixed-time discretization, which limits…
Legged robots are typically in rigid contact with the environment at multiple locations, which add a degree of complexity to their control. We present a method to control the motion and a subset of the contact forces of a floating-base…
This paper presents a Differential Dynamic Programming (DDP) framework for trajectory optimization (TO) of hybrid systems with state-based switching. The proposed Hybrid Systems DDP (HS-DDP) approach is considered for application to…