TABLE OF CONTENTS Matthew D. Berkemeier, Utah State University, Logan, UT
Biologists have uncovered some of the mechanisms at work in the control of legged animals. The animal CPG has received much attention and provides new inspiration for the control of legged robots. This paper presents the further development of a control method which involves coupled oscillators. In particular, the paper discusses a pair of coupled oscillators which operate in discrete time and which have been implemented on a pair of microcontrollers. Coupling between the oscillators only need occur twice each period (once for each oscillator), rather than continually. A simulation demonstrates phaselocking of the two oscillators. Experimental results are briefly described.
Legged robots are thought to have great potential for locomotion over rough terrain. This belief depends heavily on observations of legged animals in rugged outdoor environments. Currently, there are no legged robots which can compare with humans and other animals in locomotion in unstructured environments. This is no surprise, as there are many other problems in which biological systems excel and engineered systems do not (and vice versa). This paper discusses continuing efforts to build a quadrupedal robot with the ability to run using several gaits. Simple biological principles (including central pattern generation) are being used to design and control the robot.
The current concept for a simple running quadruped model and mechanical design is shown in Figure 1. The discussion of this model will be divided into three parts.
Mechanical...
