Biomimetic Energy-Based Humanoid Gait Design
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Biomimetic Energy-Based Humanoid Gait Design Noel Maalouf1
· Imad H. Elhajj2 · Elie Shammas1 · Daniel Asmar1
Received: 31 August 2019 / Accepted: 17 February 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract One of the challenges facing humanoid robots is the design of a more human-like gait. In this paper, we propose a new paradigm for gait design for humanoids that is founded in the field of Kinesiology and is based on energy-exchange between potential and kinetic energies. Additionally, we propose an energy-based controller, which not only maintains the desired gait but is also more efficient than current controllers in terms of energy expenditure and joint motor torque exertion. Experiments were performed in simulation on Webots and on an actual humanoid platform, the Nao. Results indicate an improvement in mechanical energy consumption by 10% in simulations, and 1.8% on the Nao. Qualitatively, the proposed gait yielded motions that are more human-like. Keywords Humanoid gait · Energy-exchange · Energy-based control · Biomimetic bipedal gait
1 Introduction Understanding human motion has been of interest for centuries as can be seen in the fields of Biomechanics, Kinesiology, and Psychology [1, 2]. At a basic level, human motion can be intuitively related to a kinematic and dynamic interaction between the human and the environment [3, 4]. It has been widely accepted that human gait is a cyclic motion consisting of two repetitive phases [5]: the stance phase —when the reference foot is placed on the ground [6], and makes up around 60% of the gait cycle; and the remaining 40% of the gait is called the swing phase, during which the
Noel Maalouf
[email protected]; [email protected] Imad H. Elhajj [email protected] Elie Shammas [email protected] Daniel Asmar [email protected] 1
Electrical and Computer Engineering, American University of Beirut, Riad El Solh 1107 2020, Beirut, 11-0236, Lebanon
2
Mechanical Engineering Department, American University of Beirut, Riad El Solh 1107 2020, Beirut, 11-0236, Lebanon
leg swings to reach the next contact point with the floor. While the ultimate goal of locomotion is the movement from one position to another, the stance and swing phases contribute to that goal in different ways. The stance phase provides adequate support to avoid a fall, absorbs the shock of impact between the limb and the ground, and provides adequate forward and backward force for locomotion [7]. The swing phase on the other hand perturbs the body’s stability and is the phase where the body is most vulnerable to balance disturbances [7]. In brief, human walking can be visualized as a double inverted pendulum, where each foot is a pendulum pivot [8]. Walking at a constant preferred speed, an asymmetrical motion between the right and left halves of the body guides the gait. While the double inverted pendulum notion describes the mechanics of human walking, there are different control levels that are guiding this motion. Human movement consists of three hierarchical levels: strategic, tactical, and executive [9]. Th
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