Bio-Inspired Locomotion Control of Limbless Robots

185 Pages·2023·6.843 MB·English

by  Guoyuan Li, Houxiang Zhang, Jianwei Zhang

Guoyuan Li
Houxiang Zhang
Jianwei Zhang
Bio-Inspired
Locomotion
Control of 
Limbless Robots
Bio-Inspired Locomotion Control of Limbless
Robots
· ·
Guoyuan Li Houxiang Zhang Jianwei Zhang
Bio-Inspired Locomotion
Control of Limbless Robots
GuoyuanLi HouxiangZhang
DepartmentofOceanOperationsandCivil DepartmentofOceanOperationsandCivil
Engineering,FacultyofEngineering Engineering,FacultyofEngineering
NorwegianUniversityofScience NorwegianUniversityofScience
andTechnology andTechnology
Ålesund,Norway Ålesund,Norway
JianweiZhang
DepartmentInformatics,Faculty
ofMathematics,InformaticsandNatural
Science
UniversityofHamburg
Hamburg,Germany
ISBN 978-981-19-8383-2 ISBN 978-981-19-8384-9 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8384-9
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Contents
1 Introduction ................................................... 1
1.1 LimblessLocomotioninNature .............................. 1
1.2 LimblessLocomotioninRobots .............................. 3
1.3 ScopeandGoals ........................................... 6
References ..................................................... 7
2 OverviewofLimblessRobots .................................... 9
2.1 StateoftheArt ............................................. 9
2.1.1 ActiveCordMechanism .............................. 9
2.1.2 CMU’sSnakeRobots ................................. 11
2.1.3 AmphiBot .......................................... 12
2.1.4 OmniTread .......................................... 13
2.1.5 Others .............................................. 14
2.2 HowLimblessRobotsMove ................................. 14
2.2.1 LateralUndulationwithPassiveWheels ................. 15
2.2.2 Self-propulsionwithActiveWheels .................... 15
2.2.3 Self-propulsionwithActiveTreads ..................... 16
2.2.4 PureBodyUndulation ................................ 17
2.2.5 RectilinearwithBodyExpansionandContraction ........ 18
2.3 LimblessLocomotionControl ................................ 19
2.3.1 GaitControlTable ................................... 20
2.3.2 AnalyticalMethod ................................... 21
2.3.3 Sine-BasedMethod .................................. 22
2.3.4 CPG-BasedMethod .................................. 24
2.4 Summary .................................................. 26
References ..................................................... 26
3 SinusoidalGenerator—AnAttempttoLimblessLocomotion ....... 31
3.1 Analysis and Design of Asymmetric Oscillation
forCaterpillar-LikeLocomotion .............................. 31
3.1.1 InspirationfromCaterpillars ........................... 32
3.1.2 Caterpillar-LikeLocomotionAnalysis .................. 34
v
vi Contents
3.1.3 DesignofAsymmetricOscillator ....................... 42
3.1.4 SimulationandExperiments ........................... 45
3.1.5 Caterpillar-LikeLocomotionSummary .................. 51
3.2 DevelopmentofaVision-BasedTargetExplorationSystem
forSnake-LikeRobots ...................................... 51
3.2.1 Snake-LikeRobotSystemOverview .................... 52
3.2.2 Vision-BasedNavigation .............................. 56
3.2.3 Experiments ......................................... 60
3.2.4 SummaryoftheTargetExplorationSystem .............. 65
References ..................................................... 66
4 DesignofaLampreySpinalGenerator ........................... 69
4.1 CPGOverview ............................................. 69
4.1.1 Ijspeert’sModel ..................................... 70
4.1.2 Matsuoka’sModel ................................... 71
4.1.3 Ekeberg’sModel ..................................... 73
4.1.4 Herrero-Carrón’sModel .............................. 74
4.1.5 Comparison ......................................... 76
4.2 DesignGoals .............................................. 77
4.3 SingleOscillatorDesign ..................................... 79
4.4 ChainedInhibitoryCPGCircuit .............................. 84
4.4.1 CPGCircuitConstruction ............................. 84
4.4.2 ParametersAdjustment ............................... 87
4.5 CyclicInhibitoryCPGCircuit ................................ 94
4.5.1 SynchronizationActivity .............................. 96
4.5.2 MaintenanceActivity ................................. 99
4.6 Summary .................................................. 100
References ..................................................... 100
5 DesignofLimblessLocomotion .................................. 103
5.1 Introduction ............................................... 103
5.2 3DGaitImplementation ..................................... 104
5.2.1 SidewindingGait .................................... 104
5.2.2 RollingGait ......................................... 109
5.2.3 TurningGait ........................................ 113
5.2.4 FlappingGait ........................................ 118
5.2.5 DesignedGaitsSummary ............................. 121
5.3 On-SiteExperiment ......................................... 122
5.4 Summary .................................................. 123
References ..................................................... 124
6 DesignofSensoryReflexMechanism ............................. 125
6.1 Introduction ............................................... 125
6.2 SensoryReflexMechanism .................................. 127
6.2.1 ReflexArc .......................................... 127
6.2.2 SensoryNeuronIntegration ............................ 129
Contents vii
6.2.3 ResponseBehaviors .................................. 131
6.3 BallHittingExperiment ..................................... 132
6.3.1 Simulation .......................................... 133
6.3.2 On-SiteExperiment .................................. 136
6.4 CorridorPassingExperiment ................................. 137
6.4.1 Simulation .......................................... 138
6.4.2 On-SiteExperiment .................................. 140
6.5 Summary .................................................. 142
References ..................................................... 143
7 DevelopmentofAdaptiveLocomotionBasedonaFeedback
CoupledCPGModel ........................................... 145
7.1 Introduction ............................................... 145
7.2 AdaptiveControlSystem .................................... 149
7.2.1 RobotConstruction ................................... 149
7.2.2 ControlArchitecture .................................. 150
7.3 SensorProcessor ........................................... 152
7.4 ReactionMaker ............................................ 153
7.5 ParameterModulator ........................................ 156
7.6 MotionOptimization ........................................ 158
7.7 SimulationandExperiment .................................. 160
7.7.1 Simulation .......................................... 160
7.7.2 On-SiteExperiment .................................. 163
7.8 Summary .................................................. 166
References ..................................................... 169
8 Conclusions .................................................... 171
List of Figures
Fig.1.1 Thefullyfunctionalintegrationofthelimblessrobots ......... 7
Fig.2.1 TheACMfamilyinHirose-FukushimaRoboticslab .......... 10
Fig.2.2 Gait control table for the caterpillar gait. Adopted
andmodifiedfrom(Yimetal.2001) ....................... 20
Fig.2.3 Serpenoidcurve.Adoptedandmodifiedfrom(Hirose
andYamada2009) ...................................... 21
Fig.2.4 Sinusoidal generators. Adopted and modified
from(Gonzalez-Gomezetal.2007) ....................... 23
Fig.2.5 Limitcyclebehavior.Adoptedandmodifiedfrom(Crespi
etal.2005) ............................................ 25
Fig.3.1 Caterpillar locomotion. Adopted and modified
from(Brackenbury1999) ................................ 33
Fig.3.2 Morphologicalmappingfromthecaterpillartothemodular
robottotheskeletonmodel .............................. 34
Fig.3.3 Discrete body shape analysis. a Two types of body
shapeinthehalfwaveaswellastheiranglevariation
overdiscretetime;banexampleofhalfwavegeneration
andpropagationwithrespecttodiscretetimesequence ........ 35
Fig.3.4 Hypothesisofcontinuousanglevariationintheswingphase ... 35
Fig.3.5 Continuous body shape analysis. a Joint analysis; b
verticaldisplacementanalysis;andccollisionanalysis ........ 37
Fig.3.6 Theverticaldisplacementwithrespecttotheamplitude
andthephasedifference ................................. 41
Fig.3.7 Horizontal displacement analysis. a The body arcs
withrespecttoaseriesofphasedifferences;bhorizontal
displacementperstepcyclewithrespecttotheamplitude
andthephasedifference ................................. 42
Fig.3.8 Thesine-basedcontrolarchitecture ........................ 42
Fig.3.9 Thedetailedoscillatormodel ............................. 43
Fig.3.10 Thedetailedoscillatormodel ............................. 45
Fig.3.11 Simulationofcaterpillar-likelocomotioninonestepcycle ..... 46
ix
x ListofFigures
Fig.3.12 Body shape variation with respect to the amplitude
andthephasedifference ................................. 47
Fig.3.13 Onsiteexperiment ...................................... 47
Fig.3.14 Thehorizontaldisplacementcomparison.aRealcaterpillar
data.Adoptedfrom(Casey1991);bon-siteexperimental
data .................................................. 48
Fig.3.15 Velocityinthex-planeanddisplacementinthey-plane
versustime.a DataforA3ofrealcaterpillar.Adopted
from (van Griethuijsen and Trimmer 2009); b data
formodule4oftherobot ................................ 49
Fig.3.16 Measured data, a the step length (cid:2)λ; b the energy
consumption;cefficiencyofcaterpillar-likelocomotion ....... 50
Fig.3.17 Mechanicaldesignof aheadpart,bupperpart,cbottom
part,anddassemblyforthesnake-likerobot ................ 53
Fig.3.18 Examplegaitsfor a forward,bturning,cCWrotating,
anddrightsidewinding ................................. 55
Fig.3.19 Controlflowdiagram ................................... 56
Fig.3.20 Virtualsensorsonthesnake-likerobot ..................... 57
Fig.3.21 ExamplesofplanningresultsusingaRRTandbRRT* ....... 58
Fig.3.22 Gaitselectionforthesnake-likerobot ...................... 59
Fig.3.23 Deadendrecognitioninamaze ........................... 60
Fig.3.24 Experimentsetupfortargetexplorationinamaze ............ 61
Fig.3.25 Screenshotsofthepathtrackingexperiment ................. 62
Fig.3.26 Gaitchangesofthesnake-likerobotinthepathtracking
experiment ............................................ 62
Fig.3.27 Screenshotsofthedeadendsearchexperiment .............. 63
Fig.3.28 Theresultsof agaitchangesofthesnake-likerobot,andb
capturedimagesfromtheheadcamerainthedeadend
searchexperiment ...................................... 64
Fig.4.1 Ijspeert’sCPGmodel.Adoptedfrom(IjspeertandCrespi
2007) ................................................ 70
Fig.4.2 Kimura’sextendedCPGmodel.Adoptedandmodified
from(FukuokaandKimura2003) ......................... 72
Fig.4.3 Ekeberg’s CPG model. Adopted and modified
from(Ekeberg1993) .................................... 73
Fig.4.4 Herrero-Carrón’s CPG model. Adopted and modified
from(Herrero-Carrónetal.2011) ......................... 75
Fig.4.5 Ahierarchicalcontrolarchitecture ......................... 78
Fig.4.6 Theoscillatormodel.Thecircuitconsistsofthemotor
controlcenterandtheoscillator.Theroleofthemotor
control center is neuromodulation. It transfers motor
commandsfromthelarge-scalelevelandadjustsrelated
control parameters for desired modulation. The role
oftheoscillatorisproducingrhythmicactivitythrough
theinteractionbetweentheseinterneurons .................. 80
ListofFigures xi
Fig.4.7 Theoutputofasingleoscillator.Theoscillatorsucceeds
tooscillatebyusingthesynapticweightsinTable4.2
and the initial values in Table 4.3, with parameters
τ =0.2, A=20andβ =0 .............................. 83
Fig.4.8 Theunidirectionalconnectionbetweentwooscillators
and their simplification. Both the EINs in the first
oscillator emit inhibitory synapses to the ipsilateral
LINs in the second oscillator. The simplified version
of oscillators uses the ‘L’ and the ‘R’ to represent
thecorrespondinginterneuronsandconnection .............. 85
Fig.4.9 Thechainedtopologyofoscillators.Whenoscillators
areunidirectional connected withthesame inhibitory
synaptic weights, a phase difference between them
develops.Byalteringtheweightofadditionalsynapses
ofthecommandoscillator,theotheroscillatorscanbe
modulated to maintain the desired phase difference.
Parameters α and γ, with a range of (0, 1], are used
tomodulatethephasedifference .......................... 85
Fig.4.10 The variation of phase difference between oscillators
withrespecttoparametersα andγ,whereothercontrol
parametersarefixedasτ = 0.4, A = 20andβ = 0.α
andγ havethesamefunctionalitythatbothofthemcan
shiftthephasedifferencebetweenoscillatorsmonotonously ... 86
Fig.4.11 Phasedifferencemodulationwithrespecttoparameterα,
whereγ = 0.2.Thephasedifferencecanbemodulated
intherangefrom45◦ to145◦ ............................. 87
Fig.4.12 Relationshipbetweentuningparametersandoscillatory
characteristics of the chained inhibitory CPG circuit.
a–c Show the variations of the amplitude, the period
andthephasedifferencewithrespectto A,τ andα .......... 88
Fig.4.13 Decouple the influence of amplitude with α. a The
variationofamplitudewithrespectto A andα.bThegain
of A withrespecttothedesiredamplitudeandα.The
desiredamplitudewillbemaintainedifthegainisapplied
on A ................................................ 90
Fig.4.14 Decoupletheinfluenceofperiodwithα.aThevariation
of period with respect to A and α. b The gain of τ
with respect to the desired period and α. The desired
periodwillbemaintainedifthegainisappliedonτ .......... 92
Fig.4.15 Thevariationofrelativeoffsetwithrespectto A andτ.
Altering A willnotaffecttherelativeoffset.Therelative
offsetisonlyaffectedbyβ inalinearfashion ............... 93