EAGER: SupraPed: Biped Robot Support Expansions for Rough Terrains

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

Biped humanoid robots hold the potential to perform human-like locomotion and manipulation tasks in a variety of situations where either skilled humans are unavailable or where environmental conditions prevent human intervention. However, while bipedal motion maximizes maneuverability in tight workspaces, it simultaneously reduces locomotion stability. To initiate a new direction of ongoing research in legged robot motion control, this work will enable humanoid robots to transform into tripeds or quadrupeds or, more generally, "SupraPeds". To control the potentially numerous contact points on SupraPeds, we will also develop a software system that implements generic multi-contact control for arbitrary humanoids, which will enable autonomous balancing while satisfying contact force constraints. This concept is intuitive to humans as everyone has experienced the need for an extra hand or two to maintain balance or navigate difficult terrain. The PIs will capitalize on this aspect to communicate to high school students, undergraduates, and graduate students, as well as educators nationwide, through live and online courses and seminars. To broaden the participation of under-represented groups, we will participate in a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program especially for community colleges and minority-serving institutions. The results of the research will be published in open-access conferences and journals whenever possible, and the sensing and control software will be documented and published on public websites as open-source code. The applications of the work will impact fields such as search and rescue and scientific exploration.