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Despite major advancements in control design that are robust to unplanned disturbances, bipedal robots are still susceptible to falling over and struggle to negotiate rough terrains. By utilizing thrusters in our bipedal robot, we can…
The fundamental challenge of planning for multi-step manipulation is to find effective and plausible action sequences that lead to the task goal. We present Cascaded Variational Inference (CAVIN) Planner, a model-based method that…
To overcome the obstructions imposed by high-dimensional bipedal models, we embed a stable walking motion in an attractive low-dimensional surface of the system's state space. The process begins with trajectory optimization to design an…
Recently, work on reinforcement learning (RL) for bipedal robots has successfully learned controllers for a variety of dynamic gaits with robust sim-to-real demonstrations. In order to maintain balance, the learned controllers have full…
In this paper, we present a novel two-level variable Horizon Model Predictive Control (VH-MPC) framework for bipedal locomotion. In this framework, the higher level computes the landing location and timing (horizon length) of the swing foot…
In swarm robotics, confrontation scenarios, including strategic confrontations, require efficient decision-making that integrates discrete commands and continuous actions. Traditional task and motion planning methods separate…
In this paper, we holistically present a Hybrid-Linear Inverted Pendulum (H-LIP) based approach for synthesizing and stabilizing 3D foot-underactuated bipedal walking, with an emphasis on thorough hardware realization. The H-LIP is proposed…
Enabling humanoid robots to reliably execute complex multi-step manipulation tasks is crucial for their effective deployment in industrial and household environments. This paper presents a hierarchical planning and control framework…
To increase the speed of operation and reduce operator burden, humanoid robots must be able to function autonomously, even in complex, cluttered environments. For this to be possible, they must be able to quickly and efficiently compute…
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…
Traversing risky terrains with sparse footholds presents significant challenges for legged robots, requiring precise foot placement in safe areas. To acquire comprehensive exteroceptive information, prior studies have employed motion…
It is challenging for humans -- particularly those living with physical disabilities -- to control high-dimensional, dexterous robots. Prior work explores learning embedding functions that map a human's low-dimensional inputs (e.g., via a…
In robot navigation, generalizing quickly to unseen environments is essential. Hierarchical methods inspired by human navigation have been proposed, typically consisting of a high-level landmark proposer and a low-level controller. However,…
Visual navigation is a core capability for mobile robots, yet end-to-end learning-based methods often struggle with generalization and safety in unseen, cluttered, or narrow environments. These limitations are especially pronounced in dense…
The application of biomechanic and motor control models in the control of bidedal robots (humanoids, and exoskeletons) has revealed limitations of our understanding of human locomotion. A recently proposed model uses the potential energy…
Dynamic jumping with legged robots poses a challenging problem in planning and control. Formulating the jump optimization to allow fast online execution is difficult; efficiently using this capability to generate long-horizon motion plans…
This paper introduces a new approach to enhance the robustness of humanoid walking under strong perturbations, such as substantial pushes. Effective recovery from external disturbances requires bipedal robots to dynamically adjust their…
Bipedal humanoid robots must precisely coordinate balance, timing, and contact decisions when locomoting on constrained footholds such as stepping stones, beams, and planks -- even minor errors can lead to catastrophic failure. Classical…
Humanoid robots maintain balance and navigate by controlling the contact wrenches applied to the environment. While it is possible to plan dynamically-feasible motion that applies appropriate wrenches using existing methods, a humanoid may…
Floating-base multi-link robots can change their shape during flight, making them well-suited for applications in confined environments such as autonomous inspection and search and rescue. However, trajectory planning for such systems…