• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.275-281
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• 2007

This paper presents a motion planning strategy for legged robots using locomotion primitives in the complex 3D environments. First, we define configuration, motion primitives and locomotion primitives for legged robots. A hierarchical motion planning method based on a combination of 2.5 dimensional maps of the 3D workspace is proposed. A global navigation map is obtained using 2.5 dimensional maps such as an obstacle height map, a passage map, and a gradient map of obstacles to distinguish obstacles. A high-level path planner finds a global path from a 2D navigation map. A mid-level planner creates sub-goals that help the legged robot efficiently cope with various obstacles using only a small set of locomotion primitives that are useful for stable navigation of the robot. A local obstacle map that describes the edge or border of the obstacles is used to find the sub-goals along the global path. A low-level planner searches for a feasible sequence of locomotion primitives between sub-goals. We use heuristic algorithm in local motion planner. The proposed planning method is verified by both locomotion and soccer experiments on a small biped robot in a cluttered environment. Experiment results show an improvement in motion stability.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.602-611
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• 2006

This paper proposes a locomotion pattern and a control method for biped robots with curved soles. First, since the contact point of a supporting leg may arbitrarily move back and forth on the ground, we derived the desired trajectory from a model called the Moving. Inverted Pendulum Model (MIPM) where the Zero Moment Point (ZMP) exists at the supporting point and can be moved intentionally. Secondly, a biped robot with curved soles is an under-actuated system since the supporting point contacting with a point on the ground has no actuator during the single supporting phase. Therefore, this paper proposes a computed-torque control for this under-actuated system using decoupled dynamic equations. A series of computer simulations with a 7-DOF biped robot with curved soles shows that the proposed walking pattern and control method are effective and allow the biped robot to walk fast and stably, and move more like human beings. Also, it is shown that the curved sole shape has superior energy consumption compared to flat soles, and greater efficiency in ascending and descending the stairs.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.92-103
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• 2013

Humanoid robot is the most intimate robot platform suitable for human interaction and services. Biped walking is its basic locomotion method, which is performed with combination of joint actuator's rotations in the lower extremity. The present work employs humanoid robot simulator and numerical optimization method to generate optimal joint trajectories for biped walking. The simulator is developed with Matlab based on the robot structure constructed with the Denavit-Hartenberg (DH) convention. Particle swarm optimization method minimizes the cost function for biped walking associated with performance index such as altitude trajectory of clearance foot and stability index concerning zero moment point (ZMP) trajectory. In this paper, instead of checking whether ZMP's position is inside the stable region or not, reference ZMP trajectory is approximately configured with feature points by which piece-wise linear trajectory can be drawn, and difference of reference ZMP and actual one at each sampling time is added to the cost function. The optimized joint trajectories realize three phases of stable gait including initial, periodic, and final steps. For validation of the proposed approach, a small-sized humanoid robot named DARwIn-OP is commanded to walk with the optimized joint trajectories, and the walking result is successful.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.810-815
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• 2004

In this paper, we propose new parallel mechanism of a 3 dimensional biped robot whose each leg is composed of two 3-dof parallel platforms linked serially. This proposed parallel mechanism is able to move freely in the man-made environment and is applied to various fields, such as medical, welfare, and so on. And a total weight of each leg is expected to be lighter than serial linked leg. One side leg consists of a 3-dof orientation platform and 3-dof asymmetric parallel platform. The former consists of three active linear actuators and seven passive joints, and the latter of two active linear actuators, one active rotational actuator and eight passive joints. Thus, there are two kinds of parallel platforms each chain's elements and active joint's positions are different for the biped robot to move freely like a serial link without the kinematics constraints. The effectiveness and the performance of the proposed parallel mechanism and locomotion trajectory are shown in computer simulations with a 12-DOF parallel biped robot.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.35 no.7
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• pp.767-772
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• 2011

Trajectory generation is important because it determines the walking stability, continuity, and performance of a body in motion. Generally, the Linear Inverted Pendulum Mode is used for trajectory generation; however, for the sake of simplicity, the trajectory in this mode does not allow vertical motions and pitching motions of the body. This paper proposes a new trajectory generation method called Extended Linear Inverted Pendulum Mode (ELIPM) that allows vertical motion as well as pitching motion. This method can also improve the performance of locomotion by controlling the stride and locomotion frequency of a body.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2493-2503
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• 2018

Passive dynamic walking exhibits humanoid and energy efficient gaits. However, optimal design of passive walker at multi-variable level is not well studied yet. This paper presents a Chaotic Particle Swarm Optimization (CPSO) algorithm and applies it to the optimal design of flexible passive walker. Hip torsional stiffness and damping were incorporated into flexible biped walker, to imitate passive elastic mechanisms utilized in human locomotion. Hybrid dynamics were developed to model passive walking, and period-one gait was gained. The parameters global searching scopes were gained after investigating the influences of structural parameters on passive gait. CPSO were utilized to optimize the flexible passive walker. To improve the performance of PSO, multi-scroll Jerk chaotic system was used to generate pseudorandom sequences, and chaotic disturbance would be triggered if the swarm is trapped into local optimum. The effectiveness of CPSO is verified by comparisons with standard PSO and two typical chaotic PSO methods. Numerical simulations show that better fitness value of optimal design could be gained by CPSO presented. The proposed CPSO would be useful to design biped robot prototype.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.1216-1222
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• 2009

This article describes a simple method for generating the walking trajectory for the biped humanoid robot. The method used a simple inverted model instead of complex multi-mass model and a reasonable explanation for the model simplification is included. The problem of gait trajectory generation is to find the solution from the desired ZMP trajectory to CoG trajectory. This article presents the analytic solution for the bipedal gait generation on the bases of ZMP trajectory. The presented ZMP trajectory has Fourier series form, which has finite or infinite summation of sine and cosine functions, and ZMP trajectory can be designed by calculating the coefficients. From the designed ZMP trajectory, this article focuses on how to find the CoG trajectory with analytical way from the simplified inverted pendulum model. Time segmentation based approach is adopted for generating the trajectories. The coefficients of the function should be designed to be continuous between the segments, and the solution is found by calculating the coefficients with this connectivity conditions. This article also has the proof and the condition of solution existence.

• Advances in robotics research
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.151-159
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• 2018

The evolution of bipedal robots was the foundation stone for development of Humanoid robots. The highly complex and non-linear dynamic of human walking made it very difficult for researchers to simulate the gait patterns under different conditions. Simple controllers were developed initially using basic mechanics like Linear Inverted Pendulum (LIP) model and later on advanced into complex control systems with dynamic stability with the help of high accuracy feedback systems and efficient real-time optimization algorithms. This paper illustrates a number of significant mathematical models and controllers developed so far in the field of bipeds and humanoids. The key facts and ideas are extracted and categorized in order to describe it in a comprehensible structure.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.24 no.4 s.175
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• pp.1007-1015
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• 2000

This paper proposes an adaptive trajectory generation strategy of using on-line ZMP information and an impedance control method for biped robots. Since robots experience various disturbances during their locomotion, their walking mechanism should have the robustness against those disturbances, which requires an on-line adaptation capability. In this context, an on-line trajectory planner is proposed to compensate the required moment for recovering stability. The ZMP equation and sensed ZMP information are used in this trajectory generation strategy. In order to control a biped robot to be able to walk stably, its controller should guarantee stable footing at the moment of feet contacts with the ground as well as maintaining good trajectory tracking performance. Otherwise, the stability of robot will be significantly compromised. To reduce the magnitude of an impact and guarantee a stable footing when a foot contacts with the ground, this paper. proposes to increase the damping of the leg drastically and to modify the reference trajectory of the leg. In the proposed control scheme, the constrained leg is controlled by impedance control using the impedance model with respect to the base link. Computer simulations performed with a 3-dof environment model that consists of combination of a nonlinear and linear compliant contact model show that the proposed controller performs well and that it has robustness against unknown uneven surface. Moreover, the biped robot with the proposed trajectory generator can walk even when it is pushed with a certain amount of external force.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.1344-1349
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• 2007

Biped humanoids maintain their stability through precise controls during locomotion or operation. Dynamic forces are applied to the humanoid structure during locomotion or operation. If the humanoid has weakness from a structural viewpoint, these forces cause severe deformation or vibration of the structure, which can make the humanoid unstable. In this research, a design scenario is proposed to design a robust humanoid structure under the dynamic loads. The pelvis part is selected for design practice. Multibody dynamics is adopted to calculate the dynamic loads and a structural optimization technique is employed to design the pelvis structures. Since it is extremely difficult directly consider the dynamic loads in the optimization process, equivalent static loads are evaluated from the dynamic loads and the design result are discussed.