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Register a new userA Generalized Mixed-Integer Convex Program for Multilegged Footstep Planning on Uneven Terrain
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Added by
Bernardo Aceituno-Cabezas
Publication date
2016
fields
Informatics Engineering
and research's language is
English
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Robot footstep planning strategies can be divided in two main approaches: discrete searches and continuous optimizations. While discrete searches have been broadly applied, continuous optimizations approaches have been restricted for humanoid platforms. This article introduces a generalized continuous-optimization approach for multilegged footstep planning which can be adapted to different platforms, regardless the number and geometry of legs. This approach leverages Mixed-Integer Convex Programming to account for the non-convex constraints that represent footstep rotation and obstacle avoidance. The planning problem is formulated as an optimization problem which considers robot geometry and reachability with linear constraints, and can be efficiently solved using optimization software. To demonstrate the functionality and adaptability of the planner, a set of tests are performed on a BH3R hexapod and a LittleDog quadruped on scenarios which cant be easily handled with discrete searches, such tests are solved efficiently in fractions of a second. This work represents, to the knowledge of the authors, the first successful implementation of a continuous optimization-based multilegged footstep planner.
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One of the main challenges of planning legged locomotion in complex environments is the combinatorial contact selection problem. Recent contributions propose to use integer variables to represent which contact surface is selected, and then to rely on modern mixed-integer (MI) optimization solvers to handle this combinatorial issue. To reduce the computational cost of MI, we exploit the sparsity properties of L1 norm minimization techniques to relax the contact planning problem into a feasibility linear program. Our approach accounts for kinematic reachability of the center of mass (COM) and of the contact effectors. We ensure the existence of a quasi-static COM trajectory by restricting our plan to quasi-flat contacts. For planning 10 steps with less than 10 potential contact surfaces for each phase, our approach is 50 to 100 times faster that its MI counterpart, which suggests potential applications for online contact re-planning. The method is demonstrated in simulation with the humanoid robots HRP-2 and Talos over various scenarios.
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In this paper, we aim to improve the robustness of dynamic quadrupedal locomotion through two aspects: 1) fast model predictive foothold planning, and 2) applying LQR to projected inverse dynamic control for robust motion tracking. In our proposed planning and control framework, foothold plans are updated at 400 Hz considering the current robot state and an LQR controller generates optimal feedback gains for motion tracking. The LQR optimal gain matrix with non-zero off-diagonal elements leverages the coupling of dynamics to compensate for system underactuation. Meanwhile, the projected inverse dynamic control complements the LQR to satisfy inequality constraints. In addition to these contributions, we show robustness of our control framework to unmodeled adaptive feet. Experiments on the quadruped ANYmal demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for robust dynamic locomotion given external disturbances and environmental uncertainties.
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