University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Bipedal robot walking control using human whole-body dynamic telelocomotion

Colin Navarro, Guillermo J

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COLINNAVARRO-THESIS-2023.pdf

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121559

Description

Title
Bipedal robot walking control using human whole-body dynamic telelocomotion
Author(s)
Colin Navarro, Guillermo J
Issue Date
2023-07-20
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Ramos, Joao
Department of Study
Mechanical Sci & Engineering
Discipline
Mechanical Engineering
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Level
Thesis
Keyword(s)
  • Bipedal locomotion
  • Humanoid Robots
  • Teleoperation
Abstract
The need for deployment of robots in dangerous and/or physically demanding situations, such as search and rescue, has increased the demand for humanoid robots with outstanding sensorimotor skills and highly intelligent decision-making capabilities. A promising solution is to connect humans with humanoid robots via teleoperation. Thus, equipping humanoid robots with human-level intelligence and reflexes. Towards achieving this goal, this thesis presents a framework to dynamically synchronize the gait of a human pilot with the walking of a bipedal robot. First, an intuitive mapping to create a human walking reference from stepping-in-place motion is introduced. The desired walking dynamics generated by the human pilot serve as a reference for the robot to reproduce in a normalized dynamics space. Second, synchronization of the walking reference and robot dynamics in the aforementioned normalized dynamics space is achieved by applying forces to both the human pilot and the robot. Specifically, the haptic forces applied to the human pilot allows the pilot to modify their stepping dynamics to continuously maintain synchrony between the walking reference and robot. Lastly, a step placement law is derived to render the dynamic similarity of the two systems invariant to the hybrid dynamics of walking. The framework is tested in simulation experiments. Using a custom human machine interface, a human subject pilots a reduced-order model of a bipedal robot to achieve stable and synchronous locomotion throughout stepping-in-place, walking, and disturbance rejection experiments.
Graduation Semester
2023-08
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121559
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2023 Guillermo Colin Navarro

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