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In the realm of urban transportation, metro systems serve as crucial and sustainable means of public transit. However, their substantial energy consumption poses a challenge to the goal of sustainability. Disturbances such as delays and…
Robotic adaptation to unanticipated operating conditions is crucial to achieving persistence and robustness in complex real world settings. For a wide range of cutting-edge robotic systems, such as micro- and nano-scale robots, soft robots,…
In this paper, we improve upon a method for optimal control of quadrupedal robots which utilizes a full-order model of the system. The original method utilizes offline nonlinear optimal control to synthesize a control scheme which…
Biological springs can be used in nature for energy conservation and ultra-fast motion. The loading and unloading rates of elastic materials can play an important role in determining how the properties of these springs affect movements. We…
Balancing oneself using the spine is a physiological alignment of the body posture in the most efficient manner by the muscular forces for mammals. For this reason, we can see many disabled quadruped animals can still stand or walk even…
We investigate energy-optimal control of robots with ultracapacitor based regenerative drive systems. Based on a previously introduced framework, a fairly generic model is considered for the robot and the drive system. An optimal control…
Designing agile locomotion for quadruped robots often requires extensive expertise and tedious manual tuning. In this paper, we present a system to automate this process by leveraging deep reinforcement learning techniques. Our system can…
Prior studies have produced models to predict metabolic rates based on experimental observations of isolated muscle contraction from various species. Such models can provide reliable predictions of metabolic rates in humans if muscle…
Humans are efficient, yet expressive in their motion. Human walking behaviors can be used to walk across a great variety of surfaces without falling and to communicate internal state to other humans through variable gait styles. This…
The code performance of industrial robots is typically analyzed through CPU metrics, which overlook the physical impact of code on robot behavior. This study introduces a novel framework for assessing robot program performance from an…
Similar to their counterparts in nature, the flexible bodies of snake-like robots enhance their movement capability and adaptability in diverse environments. However, this flexibility corresponds to a complex control task involving highly…
The design of gaits for robot locomotion can be a daunting process which requires significant expert knowledge and engineering. This process is even more challenging for robots that do not have an accurate physical model, such as compliant…
Learning highly dynamic behaviors for robots has been a longstanding challenge. Traditional approaches have demonstrated robust locomotion, but the exhibited behaviors lack diversity and agility. They employ approximate models, which lead…
Humans typically walk at low speeds and run at higher speeds. Previous studies of transitions between walking and running were mostly on treadmills, but real-world locomotion allows more flexibility. Here, we study overground locomotion…
While quadruped robots usually have good stability and load capacity, bipedal robots offer a higher level of flexibility / adaptability to different tasks and environments. A multi-modal legged robot can take the best of both worlds. In…
We have developed biped robots with a passive dynamic walking mechanism. This study proposes a compass model with a wobbling mass connected to the upper body and oscillating in the horizontal direction to clarify the influence of the…
We focus on agile, continuous, and terrain-adaptive jumping of quadrupedal robots in discontinuous terrains such as stairs and stepping stones. Unlike single-step jumping, continuous jumping requires accurately executing highly dynamic…
Many methods exist for a bipedal robot to keep its balance while walking. In addition to step size and timing, other strategies are possible that influence the stability of the robot without interfering with the target direction and speed…
We present parametric trajectory optimization, a method for simultaneously computing physical parameters, actuation requirements, and robot motions for more efficient robot designs. In this scheme, robot dimensions, masses, and other…
The biomechanics of the human body gives subjects a high degree of freedom in how they can execute movement. Nevertheless, subjects exhibit regularity in their movement patterns. One way to account for this regularity is to suppose that…