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| To the left you see the ARL Monopod, our "workhorse" on
which we try out new design and control ideas. We basically took Raibert's
one-legged hopper design, and adapted the actuation, transmissions and
control laws for low power electric motors. The result was a top speed
of 1.2 m/s with an average power consumption of only 150 W. Based on these
results, we are currently converting the robot to completely autonomous
operation, with onboard batteries and controller.
A key to the low energy consumption is the reliance on the almost passive vertical oscillation maintained between the leg spring and the body mass. We are now adding a spring at the hip as well, and are going to test a new controller for stabilizing the resulting system which works admirably in simulation. The energy consumption should drop even further, permitting long autonomous runs. Stay tuned for more record breaking news! |
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© 1999 Ambulatory Robotics Laboratory. All Rights Reserved. |
