Dynamic bipedal robots, which are capable of versatile behaviour, are rare. Most bipedal robots are either versatile and static or dynamic and limited to specific gaits. Over the last twenty years the bio-inspired spring mass model became a versatile template for bipedal walking and running gaits with many studies motivated...
This thesis details the derivation and application of template-based controls on a bipedal robot, as well as a description of the software framework that enabled experimentation. The software framework uses a combination of open-source tools including ROS, OROCOS, EtherCAT, and Xenomai to create a real-time environment for the controllers. The...
Bipedal robots represent a unique class of control problems that combine many of the most difficult elements of nonlinear control. These robots are typically designed to be mobile and as such have limited energy and actuator authority making efficiency a prime concern. Unlike wheeled robots, legged robots must transition between...
Bipedal locomotion is a complex phenomenon to understand and control, making it difficult for legged robots to achieve the speed, agility, efficiency, and robustness of their animal counterparts. This thesis argues for the use of numerical optimization to investigate and implement bipedal control as it applies to biology, dynamical models,...
Legged robots have consistently captured our collective imagination through various forms of media, from Hollywood films, anime, and viral Youtube videos of robots accomplishing incredible feats of acrobatics. These robots have the potential to navigate our environments, capable of completing tasks that would otherwise require human intervention. However, developing controls...
Practical bipedal robots need to be simultaneously efficient, robust, and versatile machines, but designing robots dynamically capable of these demands has been a significant bottleneck. We designed ATRIAS to be a highly dynamic biped capable of both walking and running untethered in real environments. To meet these goals, ATRIAS is...
The objective of this study is to propose control strategies for legged robots to walk and run naturally like humans and animals. To achieve this goal, we use the spring-mass model for the legged robots to be able to create the same dynamics in the leg as humans and animals....
As bipedal robots move ever closer to being integrated into all manner of real world envi-ronments there is a necessity to push their dynamic capabilities to meet or exceed those of humans and animals. Advancements must be made to address ordinary challenges that arise everyday in the same environments that...
We seek the control strategies that are applicable on legged robots and control them to run in real world as robust and efficient as animals. To achieve this goal, we need to understand the principles of legged locomotion and the control policies that animals use during running. In this study...
Robotic limbs have been shown to enable mobility in unstructured, real-world terrain; they allow robots to step around cluttered environments, scramble up hills, carry heavy loads, and even perform acrobatics. However, mechanical limbs cannot operate as a means for such dynamic locomotion if they are simply treated as general articulated...