Rover Wheel Assistive Grouser Shape Effects on Traction Force in Flat Soft Terrain
I. N. A. C. Aziz; A. N. Ibrahim; I. Basri; Y. Fukuoka, Last, IEEE
2023 IEEE International Conference on Automatic Control and Intelligent Systems (I2CACIS), 31 Jul. 2023, [Reviewed]
Rover Wheel Assistive Grouser Angle of Attack Effects on Traction Force in Soft Terrain
I. N. A. C. Aziz; A. N. Ibrahim; I. Basri; Y. Fukuoka, Last, IEEE
Proc. of the 19th IEEE International Colloquium on Signal Processing & Its Applications (CSPA), Apr. 2023, [Reviewed]
Mechanical designs for field undulatory locomotion by a wheeled snake-like robot with decoupled neural oscillators
Y. Fukuoka; K. Otaka; R. Takeuchi; K. Shigemori; K. Inoue, Lead, IEEE
IEEE Transactions on Robotics, Apr. 2023, [Reviewed]
Effect of cortical extracellular GABA on motor response
O. Hoshino; M. Zheng and Y. Fukuoka, Last, Springer
Journal of Computational Neuroscience, Jun. 2022, [Reviewed]
Pace running of a quadruped robot driven by pneumatic muscle actuatorsY. Fukuoka; R. Komatsu; K. Machii; M. Yokota; M. Tobe; A. N. Ibrahim; T. Fukui; Y. Habu, Lead, Our goal is to design a neuromorphic locomotion controller for a prospective bioinspired quadruped robot driven by artificial muscle actuators. In this paper, we focus on achieving a running gait called a pace, in which the ipsilateral pairs of legs move in phase, while the two pairs together move out of phase, by a quadruped robot with realistic legs driven by pneumatic muscle actuators. The robot is controlled by weakly coupled two-level central pattern generators to generate a pace gait with leg loading feedback. Each leg is moved through four sequential phases like an animal, i.e., touch-down, stance, lift-off, and swing phases. We find that leg loading feedback to the central pattern generator can contribute to stabilizing pace running with an appropriate cycle autonomously determined by synchronizing each leg’s oscillation with the roll body oscillation without a human specifying the cycle. The experimental results conclude that our proposed neuromorphic controller is beneficial for achieving pace running by a muscle-driven quadruped robot., MDPI
Applied Sciences, 20 Apr. 2022,
[Reviewed] Negotiating Uneven Terrain by a Simple Teleoperated Tracked Vehicle with Internally Movable Center of Gravity
Y. Fukuoka; K. Oshino; A. N. Ibrahim, Lead, MDPI
Applied Sciences, 05 Jan. 2022, [Reviewed]
Gait Transition from Pacing by a Quadrupedal Simulated Model and Robot with Phase Modulation by Vestibular Feedback
T. Fukui; S. Matsukawa; Y. Habu and Y. Fukuoka, Last, MDPI
Robotics, 25 Dec. 2021, [Reviewed]
Autonomous speed adaptation by a muscle-driven hind leg robot modeled on a cat without intervention from brain
Y. Fukuoka; Y. HABU; K. Inoue; S. Ogura and Y. Mori, Lead, SAGE
International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems, 01 Sep. 2021, [Reviewed]
脊髄神経系に基づくネコの後脚シミュレーションモデルによる自律歩様調節
羽部 安史; 石原 淳也; 井上 晃汰; 小倉 聡司; 福岡 泰宏, Last
日本機械学会論文集（C編）, 25 Oct. 2020, [Reviewed]
Three-dimensional walking of a simulated muscle-driven quadruped robot with neuromorphic two-level central pattern generators
Y. Habu; K. Uta; Y. Fukuoka, Corresponding, SAGE
International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems, Nov. 2019, [Reviewed]
Autonomous Gait Transition and Galloping over Unperceived Obstacles of a Quadruped Robot with CPG Modulated by Vestibular Feedback
T. Fukui; H. Fujisawa; K. Otaka and Y. Fukuoka, Corresponding, Elsevier
Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Jan. 2019, [Reviewed]
Paceを基本歩容とする4脚ロボットのための自律歩容遷移手法
福井 貴大; 松川 宗一郎; 福岡 泰宏, Corresponding
日本機械学会論文集（Ｃ編）, 2019, [Reviewed]
The Effect of Assistive Anchor-Like Grousers on Wheeled Rover Performance over Unconsolidated Sandy Dune InclinesA.N. Ibrahim; S. Aoshima; N. Shiroma and Y. Fukuoka, Corresponding, Typical rovers with wheels equipped with conventional grousers are prone to getting stuck in unconsolidated sandy dune inclines as the wheels tend to sink into the sand. This phenomenon is caused by the motion of the grouser through the sand during the latter half of the rotation, in which the grouser pushes the sand from underneath the wheel upwards and towards the backside of the wheel. This creates a space that the wheel can sink into. To minimize sand movement and subsequent sinkage, we propose the concept of using an assistive grouser, which is attached to the side of a conventional rover wheel. The assistive grouser is designed to be able to autonomously maintain a uniform angle relative to the rover body independent of the rotation of the wheels. Rotating the wheel causes the assistive grousers to automatically penetrate into the sand slope surface at a constant angle of attack, thereby acting as an anchor and providing traction for the wheel. Maintaining a uniform grouser angle as opposed to a rotating motion also assists in extracting the grouser out of the sand without moving the sand towards the back of the wheel. Moreover, the angle of the assistive grousers is held constantly by a single dedicated motor, meaning that the angle of the assistive grousers can be optimized to provide the least amount of sinkage for each slope angle. The experimental results showed that for slope angles of 0-30 degrees, the rover equipped with the proposed assistive grousers experienced significantly less sinkage and consumed less current compared to the rover equipped with conventional grousers., MDPI
Sensors, 2016,
[Reviewed] A simple rule for quadrupedal gait generation determined by leg loading feedback: a modeling studyY. Fukuoka; Y. Habu and T. Fukui, Lead, We discovered a specific rule for generating typical quadrupedal gaits (the order of the movement of four legs) through a simulated quadrupedal locomotion, in which unprogrammed gaits (diagonal/lateral sequence walks, left/right-lead canters, and left/right-lead transverse gallops) spontaneously emerged because of leg loading feedbacks to the CPGs hard-wired to produce a default trot. Additionally, all gaits transitioned according to speed, as seen in animals. We have therefore hypothesized that various gaits derive from a trot because of posture control through leg loading feedback. The body tilt on the two support legs of each diagonal pair during trotting was classified into three types (level, tilted up, or tilted down) according to speed. The load difference between the two legs led to the phase difference between their CPGs via the loading feedbacks, resulting in nine gaits (3(2): three tilts to the power of two diagonal pairs) including the aforementioned., Nature Publishing
Scientific Reports, 02 Feb. 2015,
[Reviewed] Energy evaluation of a bio-inspired gait modulation method for quadrupedal locomotionY. Fukuoka; K. Fukino; Y. Habu and Y. Mori, Lead, We have proposed a bio-inspired gait modulation method, by means of which a simulated quadruped model can successfully perform smooth, autonomous gait transitions from a walk to a trot to a gallop, as observed in animals. The model is equipped with a rhythm generator called a central pattern generator (CPG) for each leg. The lateral neighbouring CPGs are mutually and inhibitorily coupled, and the CPG network is hardwired to produce a trot. Adding only the simple feedback of body tilt to each CPG, which was based on input from the postural reflex, led to the emergence of un-programmed walking and galloping at low and high speeds, respectively. Although this autonomous gait transition was a consequence of postural adaptation, it coincidentally also resulted in the minimization of energy consumption, as observed in real animals. In simulations at a variety of constant speeds the energy cost was lower for walking at low speeds and for galloping at high speeds than it was for trotting. Moreover, each gait transition occurred at the optimal speed, such that the model minimised its energy consumption. Thus, gait transitions in simulations that included the bioinspired gait modulation method were similar to those observed in animals, even from the perspective of energy consumption. This method should therefore be a preferred choice for motion generation and control in biomimetic quadrupedal locomotion., IOP
Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 2015,
[Reviewed] Dynamic bipedal walking of a dinosaur-like robot with an extant vertebrate's nervous systemYasuhiro Fukuoka; Junki Akama, In this study, we attempt to develop a biped dinosaur-like walking robot by focusing on its nervous system as well as its mechanism. We developed a robot 'Dinobot' on the basis of palaeontological knowledge on dinosaurs and extant animals. In addition, we employed typical biologically inspired walking gait generation and control methods derived from an extant vertebrate's nervous system. In particular, we utilized a central pattern generator (CPG), which is a locomotion rhythm generator in a vertebrate's spinal cord, to generate the robot's walking rhythm. Moreover, a reflex centre was placed below CPG and it produced joint torque of the legs in the swing and stance phases. Thus, we successfully achieved adaptive 3D dynamic walking generated by the interaction between the original mechanism of dinosaurs and the nervous system of extant animals. Our future goal is to find out a dinosaur's robust locomotive nervous system suitable for its mechanism., CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
ROBOTICA, Sep. 2014
Analysis of the gait generation principle by a simulated quadruped model with a CPG incorporating vestibular modulationYasuhiro Fukuoka; Yasushi Habu; Takahiro Fukui, This study aims to understand the principles of gait generation in a quadrupedal model. It is difficult to determine the essence of gait generation simply by observation of the movement of complicated animals composed of brains, nerves, muscles, etc. Therefore, we build a planar quadruped model with simplified nervous system and mechanisms, in order to observe its gaits under simulation. The model is equipped with a mathematical central pattern generator (CPG), consisting of four coupled neural oscillators, basically producing a trot pattern. The model also contains sensory feedback to the CPG, measuring the body tilt (vestibular modulation). This spontaneously gives rise to an unprogrammed lateral walk at low speeds, a transverse gallop while running, in addition to trotting at a medium speed. This is because the body oscillation exhibits a double peak per leg frequency at low speeds, no peak (little oscillation) at medium speeds, and a single peak while running. The body oscillation autonomously adjusts the phase differences between the neural oscillators via the feedback. We assume that the oscillations of the four legs produced by the CPG and the body oscillation varying according to the current speed are synchronized along with the varied phase differences to keep balance during locomotion through postural adaptation via the vestibular modulation, resulting in each gait. We succeeded in determining a single simple principle that accounts for gait transition from walking to trotting to galloping, even without brain control, complicated leg mechanisms, or a flexible trunk., SPRINGER
BIOLOGICAL CYBERNETICS, Dec. 2013
Negotiating Uneven Terrain with a Compliant Designed Unmanned Ground Vehicle Equipped with Locomotive Master-Slave OperationYasuhiro Fukuoka; Katsuyuki Hoshi; Ryosuke Kurosawa, In recent years, a number operational unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) have been developed that can negotiate irregular terrain. They have a number of degrees-of-freedom (DOF) giving them enhanced mobility, e.g., the ability to climb stairs and over obstacles. However, operating them remotely is complicated because their controllers are similar to conventional control pads or joysticks used in computer games or toys. It is hard for the operator to achieve an intuitive and natural feel, thus mistakes are common. To intuitively control the locomotion of a UGV with many DOFs, a master-slave operation was implemented. A novel UGV called Kurogane, which consists of a typical crawler combined with a human-like torso section, was developed. The torso section is controlled via a wearable controller interface. In addition, the UGV is equipped with models of muscle viscoelasticity and stretch reflex, called the involuntary autonomous adaptation system, inspired by the adaptive compliance of animals. The proposed system can autonomously and flexibly react and adapt to irregular terrain in real time. Therefore, the operation of Kurogane is simple and does not require great skill or precision. Experimental results show that it performs well over a fixed step, stairs, and rough outdoor terrain. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., WILEY-BLACKWELL
JOURNAL OF FIELD ROBOTICS, May 2013
Experimental Development of Stiffness Adjustable Foot Sole for Use by Bipedal Robots Walking on Uneven TerrainAhmad Najmuddin; Yasuhiro Fukuoka; Shota Ochiai, This research aims to develop a novel foot sole mechanism which utilizes the jamming transition effect of granular material enclosed in an air tight bag, for use by bipedal robot walking on uneven ground. The mechanism is designed to make the foot sole be soft and compliant to adapt to the surface of an uneven terrain, and be stiff when the robot is in the support phase of the walking gait. The stiffness-variable property of the mechanism according to the internal air pressure of the bag is investigated. To measure the tilting stability when center of pressure is moved across the proposed foot sole, a test using an inverted pendulum apparatus had been carried out and compared to when using a rigid flat foot sole., IEEE
2012 IEEE/SICE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON SYSTEM INTEGRATION (SII), 2012,
[Reviewed] Development of a Standing Style Transfer System ABLE with Novel Crutches for a Person with Disabled Lower LimbsY. Mori; T. Taniguchi; K. Inoue; Y. Fukuoka and N. Shiroma, A standing style transfer system, ABLE, is designed to assist a person with disabled lower limbs to travel in a standing position, to stand up from and sit down in a chair, and to go up and down steps. The ABLE system comprises three modules: a pair of telescopic Lofstrand crutches, a powered lower extremity orthosis, and a pair of mobile platforms. In this paper, the telescopic Lofstrand crutch is mainly discussed. This crutch has no actuator, and its length is switched between two levels; it assists the person when standing up and sitting down in the short length state, while it maintains the body stability in a standing position when traveling in the long length state. The experimental results related to the traveling in the standing position and standing up motion confirm the design's effectiveness., The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
Journal of System Design and Dynamics, 2011,
[Reviewed] ABLE: a standing style transfer system for a person with disabled lower limbs (improvement of stability when traveling)Y. Mori; K. Maejima; K. Inoue; N. Shiroma; Y. Fukuoka, Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe a standing style transfer system, ABLE, designed to enable a person with disabled lower limbs to do daily-life activities without special infrastructure. Actually, ABLE is mainly intended for use by people who have spinal cord injuries and who cannot move hip joints and lower extremities: the level of spinal cord injury is L1.
Design/methodology/approach - ABLE comprises three modules: a powered lower extremity orthosis, a pair of telescopic crutches, and a pair of mobile platforms. When traveling in a standing position, the user wears the powered lower extremity orthosis to fix his posture, and rides on the mobile platforms. The user uses crutches to keep his body stable. These telescopic crutches also play an important role of power assistance in standing-up and sitting-down motions, or going up/down a step. The user can enter narrow spaces, although stability is emphasized in wide spaces because it is possible to alter the contact points of the crutches freely.
Findings - Motions are discussed in a standing position: traveling and rotating, and the chair and step motions. Experimental results related to these motions confirm the design's effectiveness. The authors improve previously developed mobile platforms for better operationality and stability. An ultrasonic motor was used for steering the mobile platform instead of the prior DC motor. The benefits of the ultrasonic motor enable the new platform to reduce its backlash in steering. A supporting plate and an active ankle joint attached to each mobile platform contribute stability when traveling in the standing position. The authors show the experimental results using new mobile platforms.
Originality/value - The paper demonstrates novelty and originality of ABLE in its composition, which enables a person with disabled lower limbs to travel in a standing position on a pair of small mobile platforms. This system is regarded as a biped-type leg-wheeled robot system that has high energy efficiency and good mobility for steps because of its wheels and legs; moreover, it has a pair of crutches for stability., EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LTD
INDUSTRIAL ROBOT-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, 2011,
[Reviewed] RAPID MOVEMENT OF A CRAWLER ROBOT OVER ROUGH TERRAIN HAVING A HUMAN-LIKE UPPER BODY WITH INTUITIVE REMOTE CONTROLY. Fukuoka; K. Hoshi; N. Minakata; Y. Imai; M. Nakamura; K. Inoue; N. Shiroma; Y. Mori, In recent years, some tracked mobile robots have been developed that run over irregular terrain with remote control. They have a number of DOF to improve their mobility and are capable of running over stairs and steps. However, their remote operations are complicated, because they are controlled by operators using a control pad such as used in computer games or toys. In those cases, it is hard to capture an operational sense and easy to make operational mistakes. In order to easily control robots with many DOF, we propose an intuitive remote control system, using the conventional master-slave operation. In this paper, we introduce KUROGANE 0&1 crawler robots, controlled by the intuitive remote operation. KUROGANE 0&1 consist of a typical crawler, plus a human-like upper body. We operate these by means of a wearable remote controller. Thus, the KUROGANE0 has achieved the ability to crawl swiftly over irregular terrain with high stability. We investigated the prototype robot KUROGANE0's performance over outdoor rugged terrain, as well as steps and stairs. Based on the result, we newly designed a 'KUROGANE1 and have done some experiments. MPEG footage of these experiments can be seen at: http//fukuoka.ise.ibaraki.ac.jp., WORLD SCIENTIFIC PUBL CO PTE LTD
EMERGING TRENDS IN MOBILE ROBOTICS, 2010,
[Reviewed] Dynamic Locomotion of Quadrupeds “Tekken3&4” Using Simple Navigation
Fukuoka; Y.; Katabuchi; H.; Kimura; H., Lead
Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, 2010, [Reviewed]
車体屈折式操向車両の非線形直線経路追従制御
城間 直司; 石川 哲史; 井上 康介; 福岡 泰宏; 森 善一
日本機械学会論文集（Ｃ編）, 2010, [Reviewed]
Dynamic locomotion of a biomorphic quadruped 'Tekken' robot using various gaits: Walk, trot, free-gait and boundY. Fukuoka; H. Kimura, Numerous quadruped walking and running robots have been developed to date. Each robot walks by means of a crawl, walk, trot or pace gait, or runs by means of a bound and/or gallop gait. However, it is very difficult to design a single robot that can both walk and run because of problems related to mechanisms and control. In response to this, we adapted a biological control method for legged locomotion in order to develop a dog-like quadruped robot we have named 'Tekken'. Tekken has a control system that incorporates central pattern generators, reflexes and responses as well as a mechanism that makes the most of the control system. Tekken, which is equipped with a single mechanism, an unchangeable control method, and modifiable parameters, is capable of achieving walking and trotting on flat terrain, can walk using a free gait on irregular terrain, and is capable of running on flat terrain using a bounding gait. In this paper, we describe the mechanism, the control method and the experimental results of our new development., Hindawi Limited
Applied Bionics and Biomechanics, 2009,
[Reviewed] 同一機構で歩行・走行する４脚ロボット福岡泰宏; 木村浩, Lead, Many quadruped walking robots and running robots have been so far developed, but it is very difficult for a robot with fixed mechanism to walk and run. Our quadruped robot 'Tekken' has been able to walk dynamically by walking and trotting gait. It has a local virtual spring-damper system of which we can adjust the parameters of the stiffness. By enhancing the parameter of the system further, we succeeded in making the same mechanism robot run as well as walk. In this paper, we show the experimental result of bouncing with Tekken., The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
日本機械学会論文集（Ｃ編）, 2009,
[Reviewed] Adaptive dynamic walking of a quadruped robot on natural ground based on biological conceptsHiroshi Kimura; Yasuhiro Fukuoka; Avis H. Cohen, The paper reports on a project to make a quadruped robot walk with inedium forward speed on irregular terrain in an outdoor environment using a neural system model. The necessary conditions for stable dynamic walking on irregular terrain in general are proposed, and the neural system is designed by comparing biological concepts with those necessary conditions described in physical terms. A PD-controller is used at joints to construct a virtual spring-damper system as the visco-elasticity model of a muscle. The neural system model consists of a CPG (central pattern generator), responses and reflexes. A response directly and quickly modulates the CPG phase, and a reflex directly generates joint torque. The state of the virtual spring-damper system is switched, based on the CPG phase. In order to make a self-contained quadruped (called Tekken2) walk on natural ground, several new reflexes and responses are developed in addition to those developed in previous studies. A flexor reflex prevents a leg from stumbling on small bumps and pebbles. A sideways stepping reflex stabilizes rolling motion on a sideways inclined slope. A corrective stepping reflex/response prevents the robot from falling down in the case of loss of ground contact. A crossed flexor reflex helps a swinging leg keep enough clearance between the toe and the ground. The effectiveness of the proposed neural system model control and especially the newly developed reflexes and responses are validated by indoor and outdoor experiments using Tekken2. A CPG receives sensory feedback as a result of motions induced by reflexes, and changes the period of its own active phase. Since a CPG has the ability of mutual entrainment with pitching motion of legs and rolling motion of the body in addition, the consistency between motion of a leg temporally modified by a reflex and motions of the other legs is maintained autonomously. It is shown that CPGs can be the center of sensorimotor coordination, and that the neural system model simply defining the relationships between CPGs, sensory input, reflexes and mechanical system works very well even in complicated tasks such as adaptive dynamic walking on unstructured natural ground., SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ROBOTICS RESEARCH, May 2007,
[Reviewed] ４足ロボットの生物規範型不整地適応動歩行－自立型「鉄犬２」による屋外歩行の実現－福岡泰宏; 木村浩, Lead, We describe efforts to induce a quadruped robot to walk with medium walking speed on irregular terrain based on biological concepts. We so far reported our experimental results of dynamic walking on terrains of medium degrees of irregularity with a planar quadruped robot "Patrush" and a three-dimensional quadruped robot "Tekkenl". What we discussed and experimentally examined in those studies was how to design sensorimotor coordination system for adaptive dynamic walking. In this paper, we make the definition of biologically inspired control and summarize how to construct the neural system while introducing the nervous system of animals, relating studies on computational neuroscience and robotics, and our former studies using Patrush and Tekkenl. We propose the necessary conditions for stable dynamic walking on irregular terrain in general, and design the mechanical system and the neural system by comparing biological concepts with those necessary conditions described in physical terms. PD-controller at joints constructs the virtual spring-damper system as the visco-elasticity model of a muscle. The neural system model consists of a CPG (central pattern generator), reflexes and responses. We add several new reflexes and responses in order to satisfy the necessary conditions for stable dynamic walking in outdoor environment. We validate the effectiveness of the proposed neural system model control by making a self-contained quadruped robots called "Tekkenl" walk on natural ground. Consequently, we successfully propose the method to integrate CPGs and sensory feedback for adaptive dynamic walking of a quadruped., The Robotics Society of Japan
日本ロボット学会誌, 2007,
[Reviewed] Biologically inspired adaptive walking of a quadruped robotHiroshi Kimura; Yasuhiro Fukuoka; Avis H. Cohen, We describe here the efforts to induce a quadruped robot to walk with medium-walking speed on irregular terrain based on biological concepts. We propose the necessary conditions for stable dynamic walking on irregular terrain in general, and we design the mechanical and the neural systems by comparing biological concepts with those necessary conditions described in physical terms. PD-controller at joints constructs the virtual spring-damper system as the viscoelasticity model of a muscle. The neural system model consists of a central pattern generator (CPG), reflexes and responses. We validate the effectiveness of the proposed neural system model control using the quadruped robots called 'Tekken1&2'. MPEG footage of experiments can be seen at http://www.kimura.is.uec.ac.jp., ROYAL SOC
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY A-MATHEMATICAL PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES, Jan. 2007,
[Reviewed] 神経振動子を用いた４足歩行ロボット「鉄犬４」による不整地動的旋回運動の実現
福岡泰宏; 木村浩, Lead
日本機械学会論文集（Ｃ編）, 2006, [Reviewed]
Autonomously generating efficient running of a quadruped robot using delayed feedback controlZu Guang Zhang; Hiroshi Kimura; Yasuhiro Fukuoka, We report on the design and stability analysis of a simple quadruped running controller that can autonomously generate steady running of a quadruped with good energy efficiency and suppress such disturbances as irregularities of terrain. In this paper, we first consider the fixed point of quasi-passive running based on a sagittal plane model of a quadruped robot. Next, we regard friction and collision as disturbances around the fixed point of quasi-passive running, and propose an original control method to suppress these disturbances. Since it is difficult to accurately measure the total energy of the system in a practical application, we use a delayed feedback control (DFC) method based on the stance phase period measured by contact sensors on the robot's feet with practical accuracy. The DFC method not only stabilizes running around a fixed point, but also results in the transition from standing to steady running and stabilization in running up a small step. The effectiveness of the proposed control method is validated by simulations. MPEG footage of these simulations can be viewed at: http://www.kimura.is.uec.ac.jp/running., TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
ADVANCED ROBOTICS, 2006,
[Reviewed] Adaptive dynamic walking of a quadruped robot on irregular terrain based on biological conceptsY Fukuoka; H Kimura; AH Cohen, We have been trying to induce a quadruped robot to walk with medium walking speed on irregular terrain based on biological concepts. We propose the necessary conditions for stable dynamic walking. on irregular terrain in general, and we design the mechanical system and the neural system by comparing biological concepts with those necessary conditions described in physical terms. A PD controller at the joints can construct the virtual spring-damper system as the visco-elasticity model of a muscle. The neural system model consists of a central pattern generator (CPG) and reflexes. A CPG receives sensory input and changes the period of its own active phase. The desired angle and P-gain of each joint in the virtual spring-damper system is switched based on the phase signal of the CPG. CPGs, the motion of the virtual spring-damper system of each leg and the rolling motion of the body are mutually entrained through the rolling motion feedback to CPGs, and can generate adaptive walking. We report on our experimental results of dynamic walking on terrains of medium degrees of irregularity in order to verify the effectiveness of the designed neuro-mechanical system. We point out the trade-off problem between the stability and the energy consumption in determining the cyclic period of walking on irregular terrain, and we show one example to solve this problem. MPEG footage of these experiments can be seen at http://www.kimura.is.uec.ac.jp., SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ROBOTICS RESEARCH, Mar. 2003,
[Reviewed] Adaptive Dynamic Walking of a Quadruped Robot Using Neural System ModelKimura; H.; Fukuoka; Y.; Konaga; K., We are trying to induce a quadruped robot to walk dynamically on irregular terrain by using a neural system model. In this paper, we integrate several reflexes, such as a stretch reflex, a vestibulospinal reflex and extensor/flexor reflexes, into a central pattern generator (CPG). We try to realize adaptive walking up and down a slope of 12degrees, walking over an obstacle 3 cm in height, and walking on terrain undulation consisting of bumps 3 cm in height with fixed parameters of CPGs and reflexes. The success in walking on such irregular terrain in spite of stumbling and landing on obstacles shows that the control method using a neural system model proposed in this study has the ability for autonomous adaptation to unknown irregular terrain. In order to clarify the role of a CPG, we investigate the relation between parameters of a CPG and the mechanical system by simulations and experiments. CPGs can generate stable walking suitable for the mechanical system by receiving inhibitory input as sensory feedback and generate adaptive walking on irregular terrain by receiving excitatory input us sensory feedback. MPEG footage of these experiments can be seen at: http://www.kimura.is.uec.ac.jp., Taylor & Francis Online
Advanced Robotics, 2001,
[Reviewed] ４足ロボットの生物規範型不整地適応動歩行-体性感覚・前庭感覚による調節-福岡泰宏; 木村浩, Lead, We are trying to induce a quadruped robot to walk dynamically on irregular terrain by using a nervous system model. In this paper, we integrate several reflexes such as stretch reflex, vestibulospinal reflex, and extensor and flexor reflex into CPG (Central Pattern Generator) . We try to realize adaptive walking up and down a slope of 12 degrees, walking over an obstacle 3 [cm] in height, and walking on terrain undulation consisting of bumps 3 [cm] in height with fixed parameters of CPG and reflexes. The success in walking on such irregular terrain in spite of stumbling and landing on obstacles shows that the biologically inspired control proposed in this study has an ability of autonomous adaptation to unknown irregular terrain., The Robotics Society of Japan
日本ロボット学会誌, 2001,
[Reviewed]
