Design and Operation of Human Locomotion Systems

166 Pages·2020·21.147 MB·English

by  Marco Cecarelli, Giuseppe Carbone

DESIGN AND
OPERATION
OF HUMAN
LOCOMOTION
SYSTEMS
DESIGN AND
OPERATION
OF HUMAN
LOCOMOTION
SYSTEMS
Edited by
MARCO CECCARELLI
GIUSEPPE CARBONE
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Contributors
MarioAcevedo
UniversidadPanamericana,FacultaddeIngenier´ıa,Zapopan,Jalisco,Mexico
GiuseppeCarbone
DIMEG,UniversityofCalabria,Rende,Italy
MarcoCeccarelli
LARM2:LaboratoryofRobotMechatronics,DepartmentofIndustrialEngineering,
UniversityofRomeTorVergata,Rome,Italy
YutaChounan
LaboratoryofMechanicalSystemsDesign,DepartmentofMechanicalEngineering,School
ofEngineering,TokyoInstituteofTechnology,Tokyo,Japan
MilosˇJovanovi(cid:1)c
RoboticsDepartment,MihajloPupinInstitute,UniversityofBelgrade,Belgrade,Serbia
MedAmineLaribi
DepartmentofGMSC,PprimeInstituteCNRS,ENSMA,UniversityofPoitiers,UPR
3346,Poitiers,France
DaisukeMatsuura
LaboratoryofMechanicalSystemsDesign,DepartmentofMechanicalEngineering,School
ofEngineering,TokyoInstituteofTechnology,Tokyo,Japan
MasakiOmata
LaboratoryofMechanicalSystemsDesign,DepartmentofMechanicalEngineering,School
ofEngineering,TokyoInstituteofTechnology,Tokyo,Japan
HiramPonce
UniversidadPanamericana,FacultaddeIngenier´ıa,CiudaddeMexico,Mexico
SvemirPopi(cid:1)c
RoboticsDepartment,MihajloPupinInstitute,UniversityofBelgrade,Belgrade,Serbia
AleksandarRodi(cid:1)c
RoboticsDepartment,MihajloPupinInstitute,UniversityofBelgrade,Belgrade,Serbia
YusukeSugahara
LaboratoryofMechanicalSystemsDesign,DepartmentofMechanicalEngineering,School
ofEngineering,TokyoInstituteofTechnology,Tokyo,Japan
YukioTakeda
LaboratoryofMechanicalSystemsDesign,DepartmentofMechanicalEngineering,School
ofEngineering,TokyoInstituteofTechnology,Tokyo,Japan
SaidZeghloul
DepartmentofGMSC,PprimeInstituteCNRS,ENSMA,UniversityofPoitiers,UPR
3346,Poitiers,France
vii
Preface
This book aims to give a survey of advances on locomotion systems with
multidisciplinary viewpoints, including mechanical design, biomechanics,
control, computer science. In particular, the book addresses specifications
andrequirementstoachieveaproperdesignoflocomotionsystems.Itgives
insightonthegaitanalysisofhumansbyconsideringimagecapturesystems.
Itinvestigatesalsothehumanlocomotionfromarehabilitationviewpoint.It
outlinesthedesignandoperationofexoskeletonsbothforrehabilitationand
human performance enhancement tasks. Multilegged locomotion systems
are also discussed with careful attention.
Expectedreaderscanbeidentifiedasscholarsdealingwithrelatedtopics
withvariousbackgroundsincludingmechanicaldesign,biomechanics,con-
trol,computerscience.Thebookcanbealsoseenasareferencetextbookfor
PhD students. The multidisciplinary contents distinguish this book from
othercurrentlyavailablebooksonthetopicasthebookcontentrangesfrom
fundamental theory and mathematical formulations up to practical imple-
mentations and experimental testing procedures.
We wish to acknowledge all the authors and expert blind reviewers for
their significant contributions to this project. Also it is gratefully acknowl-
edgedtheprofessionalassistancebyallthestaffatElsevierthathavesupported
this project with their assistance and valuable advice in the preparation of
the book.
Last but not least we are indebted with our families. Without their
patienceandunderstandingitwouldnothavebeenpossibleforustowork
on this book.
Marco Ceccarelli
Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy
Giuseppe Carbone
University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
ix
CHAPTER 1
Mechanism design for legged
locomotion systems
Giuseppe Carbonea, Marco Ceccarellib
aDIMEG,UniversityofCalabria,Rende,Italy
bLARM2:LaboratoryofRobotMechatronics,DepartmentofIndustrialEngineering,UniversityofRomeTor
Vergata,Rome,Italy
1 Introduction
Locomotionis definedas the“Movementor theability to movefrom one
placetoanother”[1].MoreinparticularinIFToMMterminology[2],itis
defined as “autonomous, internally driven change of location of human
being,animals,ormachinesduringwhichbaseofsupportandcenterofmass
ofthebodyaredisplayed”withmoredetailsintheseveraltypesoflocomo-
tion as per the environment in which it is performed.
Locomotion is fundamental to the survival of many animal species
including humans. The mechanics and performance of locomotion varies
significantly asfunctionoftheenvironmentin whichlocomotorbehaviors
are executed, which can be divided into terrestrial, aquatic, aerial, as out-
lined in refs. [3–6]. Terrestrial locomotion can be achieved with legs,
wheels, and crawlers. Legged locomotion is the most widely used solution
forterrestriallocomotioninnatureasitisthemosteffectivespeedyandver-
satile when it operates in a rough terrain or in presence of obstacles. The
energyefficiencyofleggedlocomotionmightsignificantlyvaryamongani-
mals and machines. Wheeled/crawler locomotion is instead preferred for
vehiclesonflatsurfacesasitcanbemoreeasilycontrolled,anditcanbemore
energy efficient.
A large literature reports a wide range of legged locomotion systems,
which have been designed for a wide variety of applications as indicated
for example in refs. [7, 8]. For example, there are legged locomotion sys-
tems,whichareusedforentertainmentpurposes;othersolutionsforcarry-
ingheavyloadsonhillsorroughterrains,orevenforcarryinghumanswhile
overcomingstairsorotherarchitectonicbarriers.Thecommonlimitsofleg-
ged locomotion systems are high costs and complex design and operation,
which often prevent a widespread in the market, even if they have been
DesignandOperationofHumanLocomotionSystems ©2020ElsevierInc.
1
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815659-9.00001-9 Allrightsreserved.
2 Designandoperationofhumanlocomotionsystems
inspired by very successful examples in nature. Accordingly, efforts should
be made to improve user-friendliness, user-printed design and operation,
costs of the solutions for legged locomotion systems, with activities since
the very early design stage.
Generally, legged systems can be slow and more difficult to design and
operatewithrespecttomobilemachinesthatareequippedwithcrawlersor
wheels.But,leggedrobotsaremoresuitableforroughterrain,whereobsta-
clesofanysizecanappear.Infact,theuseofwheelsorcrawlerslimitsthesize
of the obstaclethat can be climbed, to half the diameter of the wheels. On
the contrary, legged machines can overcome obstacles that are comparable
with the size of the machine leg.
This chapter provides useful considerations for the design of legged
locomotion systems by focusing at their mechanism synthesis for specific
applications with suitable low-cost user-friendly features. After a general
overview on design requirements and design process, several examples are
reported as based on over 20 years of experiences by the authors.
2 Characteristics of legged locomotion
Leggedlocomotionisthebasisforseveraldifferenttypesofmovementsuch
aswalking,running,andjumping.Walkingandrunning,inwhichthebody
is carried well off the surface on which a bodyis moving (substrate), occur
onlyinarthropodsandvertebrates.Running(cursorial)vertebratesarechar-
acterized by elongated lower legs and feet and by reduction and fusion of
toes. Saltatory locomotion, movement by leaping, hopping, or jumping,
is found in a number of insects and vertebrates.
Only arthropods (e.g., insects, spiders, and crustaceans) and vertebrates
have developed a means of rapid surface locomotion. In both groups, the
body is raised above the ground and moved forward by means of a series
of jointed appendages, the legs. Because the legs provide support as well
aspropulsion,thesequencesoftheirmovementsmustbeadjustedtomain-
tain the body’s center of gravity within a zone of support; if the center of
gravity is outside this zone, the animal loses its balance and falls. It is the
necessity to maintain stability that determines the functional sequences of
limb movements, which are similar in vertebrates and arthropods. The
apparent differences in the walking and slow running gaits of these two
groups are caused by differences in the tetrapodal (four-legged) sequences
ofvertebratesandinthehexapodal(six-legged)ormoresequencesofarthro-
pods. Although many legs increase stability during locomotion, they also
Mechanismdesignforleggedlocomotionsystems 3
appear to reduce the maximum speed of locomotion. Whereas the fastest
vertebrate gaits are asymmetrical, arthropods cannot have asymmetrical
gaits, because the movements of the legs would interfere with each other.
Thecycleoflimbmovementsisthesameinbotharthropodsandverte-
brates.Duringthepropulsive,orretractive,stage,whichbeginswithfootfall
andendswithfootliftoff,thefootandlegremainessentiallystationaryasthe
bodypivotsforwardovertheleg.Duringtherecovery,orprotractive,stage,
whichbeginswithfootliftoffandendswithfootfall,thebodyremainsessen-
tiallystationaryasthelegmovesforward.Theadvanceofonelegisastep;a
strideiscomposedofasmanystepsastherearelegs.Duringastride,eachleg
passesthroughonecompletecycleofretractionandprotraction,andthedis-
tancethatthebodytravelsisequaltothelongeststepinthestride.Thespeed
of locomotion is the product of stride length and duration of stride. Stride
durationisdirectlyrelatedtoretraction:thelongerthepropulsivestage,the
moretimeisrequiredtocompleteastrideandthesloweristhegait.Agaitis
thesequenceoflegmovementsforasinglestride.Forwalkingandslowrun-
ning,gaitsaregenerallysymmetrical—i.e.,thefootfallsareregularlyspaced
in time. The gaits of fast-running vertebrates, however, tend to be
asymmetrical—i.e., the footfalls are irregularly spaced in time.
Forexample,thedifferentgaitsofinsectsarebasedonthesynchronyof
legmovementsontheleft(L)andright(R)sidesoftheanimal.Thewaveof
limb movement for each side passes anteriorly; the posterior leg protracts
first,thenthemiddleleg,andfinallytheanteriorleg,producingthesequence
R3 R2 R1 or L3 L2 L1. There is no limb interference, because the legs of
onesidedonothavefootfallsalongthesamelongitudinalaxis.Theslowest
walkinggaitofinsectsisthesequenceR3R2R1followedbythesequence
L3L2 L1. Astherate ofprotractionincreases, theprotractivewavesofthe
right and left sides begin to overlap. Eventually, the top speed is reached
whentheposteriorandanteriorlegsofonesidemovesynchronously.This
gaitoccursbecausetheprotractiontimesforalllegsareconstant,theinter-
valsbetweenposteriorandmiddlelegsandbetweenmiddleandanteriorlegs
are constant, and the interval between posterior and anterior legs decreases
with faster movements. Other gaits are possible in addition to those indi-
cated above by altering the synchrony between left and right sides.
Thelimbmovementsofcentipedesandmillipedesfollowthesamegen-
eralrulesasthoseofinsects.Theprotractionwavesusuallypassfromposte-
riortoanterior.Becauseeachlegisslightlyaheadofitsanteriorlyadjacentleg
duringthelocomotorycycle,onelegtouchesdownorliftsoffslightlybefore
its anteriorly adjacent one. This coordination of limb movement produces
4 Designandoperationofhumanlocomotionsystems
metachronal waves, the frequency of which equals the duration of the
completeprotractiveandretractivecycle.Thelengthofthewaveisdirectly
proportional to the phase lag between adjacent legs.
Cursorial (running) vertebrates are characterized by short, muscular
upper legs and thin, elongated lower legs. This adaptation decreases the
durationoftheretractive–protractivecycle,therebyincreasingtheanimal’s
speed. Because the leg’s cycle is analogous to the swing of a pendulum,
reduction of weight at the end of the leg increases its speed of oscillation.
Cursorialmammalscommonlyuseeitherthepaceorthetrotforsteady,slow
running. The highestrunning speeds,such as thegallop, areobtainedwith
asymmetricalgaits.Whengalloping,theanimalisneversupportedbymore
than two legs and occasionally is supported by none. The fastest runners,
suchascheetahsorgreyhounds,haveanadditionalno-contactphasefollow-
ing hind foot contact.
In cursorial birds and lizards, both of which are bipedal, the feet are
enlarged to increase support and the body axis is held perpendicular to
the ground, so that the center of gravity falls between the feet or within
the foot-support zone. The running gait is, of course, a simple alternation
of left andright legs. In lizards, however, bipedalrunningmust beginwith
quadrupedal(four-footed)locomotion.Asthelizardrunsonallfourlegs,it
graduallybuildsupsufficientspeedsothatitsheadendtiltsupandback,after
which it then runs on only its two hind legs.
The structure of the legs can be very different among different types of
animalsintermofanatomybutthekinematicdesignandfunctioningcanbe
recognizedwithcommoncharactersthatcanbesummarizedinhavingafoot
withaspacemobilityofatleastthreed.o.f.sandanovoid-liketrajectoryof
foot reference point with the step size S and step height H, as shown in
Fig. 1. In particular, such a kinematic design of a leg can be characterized
by a spherical joint S at the hip articulation and revolute joints R at knee
andanklearticulations.Thestepsizegivesthecapabilityofthelocomotion
motion, while the step height H gives indication of overpassing obstacles.
Both parameters can be increased on purpose during operation, but H is
the main characteristic of a leg that makes legged systems very flexible,
mainly in environments crowded with obstacles.
The foot of a leg has the function of contact and interaction with the
groundinordertoprovideaproperactionandreactioninlocomotion,both
forforceexchangeandstablepositioning.Thepeculiaritiesoffootanatomy
and operation are also significant in differentiating and specializing animals
forthespecificenvironmentsinwhichtheyusuallyoperate.Theanatomyof