Improving the energy efficiency of bipedal robots with bi-articular actuation

Lahr, Derek; Yi, Hak

doi:10.1299/jamdsm.2017jamdsm0058

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(17 reference statements)

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“…10,11 BA offers the possibility to transfer mechanical power between joints, 12 in particular from proximal toward distal joints, 13 leading to an improvement in energy efficiency. 14 For example, Oh et al 15 have shown that having biarticular muscles helps to increase the energy efficiency for human and animal motion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Minimizing torque requirements in robotic manipulation through elastic elements optimization in a physics engine

Marchal,

Marzougui,

Furnémont

et al. 2024

International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems

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The increasing number of robots and the rising cost of electricity have spurred research into energy-reducing concepts in robotics. One such concept, elastic actuation, introduces compliant elements such as springs into the robot structure. This article presents a comparative analysis between two types of elastic actuation, namely, monoarticular parallel elastic actuation and biarticular parallel elastic actuation, and demonstrates an end-to-end pipeline for their optimization. Starting from the real-world system identification of an RRR robotic arm, we calibrate a simulation model in a general-purpose physics engine and employ in silico evolutionary optimization to co-optimize spring configurations and trajectories for a pick-and-place task. Finally, we successfully transfer the in silico optimized elastic elements and trajectory to the real-world prototype. Our results substantiate the ability of elastic actuation to reduce the actuators’ torque requirements heavily. In contrast to previous work, we highlight the superior performance of the biarticular variant over the monoarticular configuration. Furthermore, we show that a combination of both proves most effective. This work provides valuable insights into the torque-reducing use of elastic actuation and demonstrates an actuator-invariant in silico optimization methodology capable of bridging the sim2real gap.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Minimizing torque requirements in robotic manipulation through elastic elements optimization in a physics engine

Marchal,

Marzougui,

Furnémont

et al. 2024

International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems

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show abstract

“…Eight different actuation setups were also investigated based on three linear mono-articular and bi-articular actuators to select the preferable actuation configuration [9]. An investigation on the impact of the position and orientation of the biarticular actuator on the energy usage of an electrically driven bipedal robot was conducted [10]. A number of various actuation configurations were evaluated using the Genetic Algorithm (GA) to find the configuration that results in the least amount of energy during standing and stepping phases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic Modeling and Hybrid Compliant Control for a 2-DOF Compliant Robotic Leg With a New Biarticular Actuation

Kalibala

Mohamed

Umezu

et al. 2023

Preprint

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It is well recognized that biarticular muscles cross over two joints instead of just one, granting them the ability to generate substantial forces across both joints. This type of muscle plays a crucial role in human movement, since it produces large forces. In literature, there have been numerous designs of mono- and biarticular actuations applied for a two- or three-link robotic leg, aimed at studying human locomotion. A novel biarticular actuation configuration for a two-link compliant robotic leg is proposed in this research. It features mono-articular rotational actuation for the proximal link and biarticular linear actuation for the distal link. The distal link is actuated by a linear Series Elastic Actuator (SEA) that is suitable for compliant ground interaction, while the proximal link is driven by a stiff rotary actuator. This biarticular actuation is bio-inspired by the biarticular muscles in humans, especially the hamstring muscle, which span two joints instead of one to provide high torque at both joints. This new configuration for the two-link robotic leg realizes the Spring-loaded Inverted Pendulum (SLIP) dynamics, making human locomotion during the compliant ground interaction simpler. In the biarticular coordinates, complete kinematic and dynamic analyses are developed for this new configuration. The approach also involves using a rotating task space to represent the swing and stance phases of human gait. The dynamic model is transformed into this rotating task space and a hybrid impedance and position controller is developed with optimized gains to minimize the tracking errors and prevent any disturbance. A disturbance observer controller is developed and integrated with the hybrid impedance control for the proposed linear SEA in order to improve the force control precision and the resilience against external disturbances. The simulation results show the feasibility of this new approach.

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“…As its name suggests, BA means simultaneous actuation of two joints of the robot by only one actuator [11] or a passive component like a spring [12]. BA offers the possibility to transfer mechanical power between joints [13], in particular from proximal towards distal joints [14], leading to an improvement in energy efficiency [15]. Such actuation also produces a maximum end-effector force in a more homogeneously distributed way [16], eases the control [17], and simplifies the dynamic equations [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization of Mono- and Bi-Articular Parallel Elastic Elements for a Robotic Arm Performing a Pick-and-Place Task

Marchal

Furnémont

Vanderborght

et al. 2023

IEEE Robot. Autom. Lett.

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Actuation concepts such as Series Elastic Actuation (SEA), Parallel Elastic Actuation (PEA), and Biarticular Actuation (BA), which introduce elastic elements into the structure, have the potential to reduce the electrical energy consumption of a robot. This paper presents an optimization of the arrangement of springs for a 3 degrees of freedom robotic arm, with the aim of decreasing the electrical energy consumption for a given pick-and-place task. Through simulations and experimental validation, we show that the optimal configuration in terms of electrical energy consumption and complexity consists of rigid actuation on joint 1 and PEAs on joints 2 and 3. With this configuration, root mean square (RMS) and peak load torques for a specific pick-and-place task can be reduced respectively by up to 43% and 44% for joint 2, and by 15% and 21% for joint 3 compared to the configuration without springs.

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Improving the energy efficiency of bipedal robots with bi-articular actuation

Cited by 4 publications

References 12 publications

Minimizing torque requirements in robotic manipulation through elastic elements optimization in a physics engine

Minimizing torque requirements in robotic manipulation through elastic elements optimization in a physics engine

Dynamic Modeling and Hybrid Compliant Control for a 2-DOF Compliant Robotic Leg With a New Biarticular Actuation

Optimization of Mono- and Bi-Articular Parallel Elastic Elements for a Robotic Arm Performing a Pick-and-Place Task

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