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Foundations of Robotics Seminar, March 2, 2010
Time
and Place | Seminar Abstract
The Role of Minimalism and Dynamics in Climbing Locomotion
Amir Degani
Robotics Institute
CMU
NSH 1507
Talk 1:30 pm
Recent progress in robotics has spawned complex, fast moving and sometimes
hard to control mechanisms. These robots can do amazing feats, however it
is not always the case that these complex systems reliably and
consistently demonstrate better performance. In this talk I will show how
a simple, low actuation system can achieve agile dynamic locomotion with
almost no need for feedback.
The particular system analyzed in this talk is called DSAC for Dynamic,
Single Actuated Climber. It is a two link mechanism which propels itself
upwards between two walls by oscillating its leg in a symmetric fashion
using a single actuator. This mechanism achieves dynamic, vertical motion
while retaining simplicity in design and control. I will derive the
nonlinear, piece-wise smooth, rigid body dynamical system and deduce its
corresponding Poincaré map that enables reduction of the system by five
dimensions. Results from both a nonlinear numerical analysis and
experiments exploring the DSAC local orbital stability will be presented,
culminating with a comprehensive bifurcation structure that includes a
period-doubling route to what appears to be irregular chaotic dynamic
behavior. I will close the presentation with future work on passively
chaining stable regions in order to traverse more complex terrains and
discuss relevant applications.
The Robotics Institute is part of the School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University.