This projects aims towards the design and construction of an energy efficient robotic quadruped that is capable of various dynamic motions including fast walking, trotting, bounding, and galloping. The primary focus is the production of an actual mechanical prototype. The prototype and the associated control strategies will be developed so as to maximize dynamic performance while minimizing energy consumption. In particular, to make the system as energy efficient as possible, we intend to exploit natural, or passive, dynamics in ways that have been the focus of significant previous research and shown themselves to be effective in bipedal robots. The extension of the concept of passive dynamics to quadrupedal robots, and more importantly the actual realization of such a system, has to date received very little attention by other researchers. The principal parts of the project are:
Developing simulation capabilities to aid design calculations and evaluate controller performance.
The development of fundamentally new control strategies that incorporate the advantageous haracteristics of passive dynamics into an optimal controller with deadbeat attitude feedback.
Designing, fabricating, and testing a mechanical prototype to evaluate controller stability, robustness, and performance.
News
23/03/12
New version 1.1 of proNEu is available (minor bugfixes and improvements of the documentation)
09/01/12
1 new project in the field of Biologial Modeling available.
07/01/12
3 new projects in the field of Design and Neuromorphic Vision available.
21/12/11
New MATLAB Tool for anayltical global kinematics and dynamics (EoM) based on projected Newton-Euler equations available.
17/10/11
New movie showing static walking of StarlETH available
